Joints & Arthritis

A hot, red, swollen joint in a gout flare needs cold, not heat. Why warmth makes it worse, what helps during an attack, and when heat becomes reasonable again.

Swollen and stiff at the same time after a knee replacement. When to use cold, when heat is allowed, why numb scar skin changes the rules, and the warning signs.

Heat doesn’t treat carpal tunnel and can make night tingling worse. What the condition actually is, where warmth has a narrow use, and what helps instead.

Pain on the bony point of the hip, worst lying on that side, is usually the tendons rather than a bursa. Why stretching makes it worse, where heat fits, and what actually changes it.

Badminton, tennis and squash produce a predictable set of shoulder, elbow and knee complaints. Where heat fits around playing, the ten-minute warm-up, and why weekly players are most at risk.

Holding a phone asks the thumb to grip and reach at the same time, for hours. The three patterns that result, where heat helps, and the one change that takes most of the load off.

Why a trigger finger is worst first thing, what warmth can and can’t do for it, tendon glides to do while warm, and why forcing the snap makes it worse.

Months on, a sprained ankle is often left stiff, weak and unsteady because it was rested but never rehabbed. Why heat is now appropriate, and four things to work on.

Inflammatory back pain gets worse with rest and better with movement. How to tell it from ordinary back pain, a morning heat routine, and the exercises that matter most in AS.

Stiff mornings want heat; hot swollen flaring joints want cold. A simple hand test to tell which state you’re in, how to use each, and the RA symptoms that need urgent review.