Infra red heating helping with constipation(probably) / pain

[ramana]

Short summary
It has been a month for me of using infra red heating pad (biomat first for 7 days and then thermotex). I have had incomplete evacuation from Jan 2005 and am taking zelnorm for it since Dec 2006.Great evacuation and motility in the past 1 month. Most probably due to infra red (see explanation for most probably in the details section below). It is definitely helping with pain during sitting. I tried variety of cushions. Infrared mat helps the best.
There are a variety of infra red mats available. Would appreciate others inputs and experience. Note that there is a lot of hype on infra red. Not medically proven as detailed at http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/500_599/0540.html. It is helping me though (that is why I waited a month before posting) so at this stage, I don't care much about the clinical studies etc.
I also take Elavil and Lyrica and had constipation because of that.

Big question: Considering that trigger points are due to reduced blood flow / oxygen deficiency can these products actually help in healing. There are expensive devices such as this product from terralaser.com that uses laser + infrared + electromagnetic field:


Available at amazon

Then there is ultrasound (not tried as yet)and short wave diathermy(which has helped me on occasions).

Details:
I have had incomplete evacuation since Jan 2005. It was traced later to puborectalis muscle dysfunction in Nov 2006. Started taking zelnorm which helped. Pain after fissures since May 2007. Started taking antibiotic in Nov 2007 due to infection. They caused diarrhea (expected). Stopped antibiotics on Dec 10 2007. Started infra red for pain around Dec 17 2007. I actually sleep with the pad tied to my pelvic region. I have observed that if I sleep with the pad tied to my abdomen, I get one shot evacuation. If it is lower down (for pain), it takes a few minutes. Also started on cod liver oil (300 mg) and probiotics on Dec 25 2007 but the fact that the evacuation consistently depends on where I tie the pad to the abdomen makes it seem it is infra red that is helping. Note that I am bed ridden mostly due to pain so getting good evacuation with the medications is a big relief for me

[ramana]

Interesting study on anorectal pain (they do not say if it is pelvic floor )
See it at PubMed

Results of linearly polarized near-infrared irradiation therapy in patients with intractable anorectal
pain.
Mibu R, Hotokezaka M, Mihara S, Tanaka M.
Dis Colon Rectum 2003;46:S50-3.
PURPOSE: Electrogalvanic stimulation and biofeedback therapy for the treatment of intractable anorectal pain have been reported. However, these therapeutic modalities have some disadvantages and insufficient effectiveness. We noticed that digital examination revealed the strongly tender point in both lateral sides of the rectum and introduced linearly polarized near-infrared irradiation therapy to the strongly tender point. The purpose of this study was to review the outcomes and estimate its usefulness. METHODS: A total of 35 consecutive patients complained of vague and deep pain in the anorectum. Fourteen patients had a history of lower abdominal surgery. Eighteen patients had disordered defecation. The linearly polarized near-infrared light was irradiated to the strongly tender point on or a few centimeters apart from the skin for ten minutes. The effect of the therapy was assessed as excellent, good, no change, or worse by the patients themselves. RESULTS: Ten patients had the strongly tender point in the left side, 8 in the right posterior, and 17 in both. Five patients estimated as excellent, 28 as good, and 2 as no change. Mean total number of irradiation was 18.8 (range, 1-235), and mean number of irradiation for relief from pain was 2.5 (range, 1-9). Anorectal pain recurred in four patients, who received the same therapy and improved. Four patients felt hot during the irradiation, and a patient had frequent micturition after the irradiation. These mild complications easily disappeared. CONCLUSION: The linearly polarized near-infrared irradiation therapy is a simple, safe, and effective modality for relief from intractable anorectal pain and recommended for primary therapy.

[webslave]

Good sleuthing, Ramana!

Heat has been a tried and trusted treatment for our condition from the earliest days, going back maybe hundreds of years. Infrared thingamajigs are a modern twist, and allow sustained, convenient heat application.

All we used to have was the "sitz bath".



This portable sitz bath fits in the toilet and you can buy it at amazon here.

[ramana]

I used sitz bath a lot during the days (or months) of lying in the bed due to anal fissure. Heck even that photo of the packaging brings memories of that pain back. Doesn't help at all in CPPS

Back to the topic though.... I was hoping for some inputs from other members on any devices that they found useful . I am very tempted to try the laser heat but the cost is way too much for a trial run. Maybe there is something else.