Heat and Cold Treatment of Pain

Discuss the most effective ways of pain management.

The patient started to wear a bite plate at night after she began to experience jaw pain and headaches. Sometimes the pain radiated to her ear, and she would apply a hot water bottle to it to ease the discomfort. Her dentist also recommended using NSAIDs when needed and incorporating regular relaxation exercises. What effect does heat have on nociceptors so that it makes a good nonpharmacologic treatment for pain? Heat and cold treatment are both hypothesized to have an effect on the release of endogenous opioids. What are these chemicals, and why are they hypothesized to be beneficial in the body?