Ch. 8 Cold and Superficial Heat

Question 1

TRUE/FALSE

If used incorrectly, cold and superficial heat can cause injury?

Answer 1

TRUE

Question 2

Thermal energy can be transferred to or from the body by 4 mechanisms, list and describe one of these:

Answer 2

1) CONDUCTION: Direct contact
- Amount of change depends on temperature and length of time
- If larger surface, center area changes more rapidly

Question 3

Thermal energy can be transferred to or from the body by 4 mechanisms, list and describe one of these:

Answer 3

2) CONVECTION: Air or water passing over a body part
- Depends on temperature, length of time, & size of area to be treated
- ex: whirlpool, fluidotherapy

Question 4

Thermal energy can be transferred to or from the body by 4 mechanisms, list and describe one of these:

Answer 4

3) RADIATION: emitted from surfaces with temperature above absolute 0 degrees
- body emits and absorbs radiant energy
- depends on output of infrared bulb, distance between bulb and skin, and length of exposure
ex: sunbathing, infrared
* *Inverse square law: change in heating effect varies with the inverse of the distance between the bulb and the skin, ex: if distance decreases from 60cm to 30cm, distance is reduced by 1/2. The inverse of 1/2 is 2.
- Assumes that radiant energy is perpendicular to skin
* *Cosine law: Heating effect varies with cosine of the angle formed between the radiant energy and the body area

Question 5

Thermal energy can be transferred to or from the body by 4 mechanisms, list and describe one of these:

Answer 5

4) CONVERSION: Change from one form to another
- ultrasound (acoustic energy –> thermal energy)
- diathermy (electromagnetic energy –> thermal energy)

Question 6

Define cryotherapy and cryokinetics:

Answer 6

Cryokinetics: Combination of cold and exercise

• Once painful area is numb, progress into exercises
• break pain/spasm cycle
• 2 rules of thumb:
• pain that alters normal movement patterns means patient is not ready to perform exercises
• patient should be able to do tomorrow what was done today, no regression

Cryotherapy: Application of cold for therapeutic purposes
METHODS:
-Commercial cold packs
-Ice massage
-Desensitize nerve points
-Cryo/cuff (less cooling than direct ice pack)
-Cold water immersion (40-50F)
-Cold water whirlpool (50-60F)
-*With these two, thermopane develops (barrier around food when submerged in water, regulates temp) broken when movement occurs (AROM)

Question 7

How does the cooling response effect blood flow?

Answer 7

Decrease in deeper tissues
-cooling decreases metabolism of cells

Decrease in superficial tissues
-vasoconstriction

Question 8

What affect does the cooling response have on the nervous system?

Answer 8

Coldness initially activates the pain receptors, then cooling of nerve fibers slows the transmission and causes numbness

Question 9

What affect does the cooling response have on muscle spasms?

Answer 9

Decreases in muscle spasm, and decreases sensitivity of muscle spindles, muscles relax and spasm is relieved

Question 10

What are some methods of superficial heat?

Answer 10

-Warm Whirlpool
(Temp: 96-115F, never exceed 115F)

-Hydrocollator (hot pack)
(Temp: 160-170*F, layers: 6-8, timing: 15-20min)

-Paraffin
(7 parts paraffin wax 1 part mineral oil, 125-127*F)
2 METHODS:
-Dip & Wrap - dip 8x, wrap
-Dip immersion - hand is dipped once, hardened, and placed back in wax for 15 min

-Fluidotherapy
(Material heated to 120-125*F, heated via convection)