Conductive Heat - Therapeutic Effects

Question 1

Decrease pain: physiological effect

Answer 1

utilize pain gate mechanism:

Decrease the nociceptive signals that reach the brain by blocking them at the spinal cord

Question 2

Promote healing: Increased blood flow

Answer 2

dramatic increase in blood flow to the skin, which will increase the blood flow to deeper tissue (but to a lesser degree)

Question 3

Promote healing: increase metabolic activity

Answer 3

Must reach 39 to 44 degrees to be clinically significant.

Question 4

Decrease muscle spasm: directly decrease the activity of type II muscle spindle afferents and increase activity of GTO

Answer 4

requires tissue temperature of 42 degrees

Question 5

Decrease muscle spasm: decrease pain and muscle-spasm cycle

Answer 5

pain-gate mechanism

Question 6

Decrease muscle spasm: decreasing firing of gamma motor neurons

Answer 6

decreases activity of type II muscle spindle fibres. proposed to be caused by stimulation of cutaneous reflex loop

Question 7

Increase ROM: decrease firing of gamma efferent motor activity

Answer 7

decrease the activity of type II muscle spindles increasing the tolerance to stretching; proposed to be caused by stimulation of cutaneous reflex loop

Question 8

increase ROM: increase collagen extensibility and increase the stress-relaxation rate

Answer 8

tendons reach 40 degrees will affect viscoelasticity

Question 9

increase joint ROM: analgesic effect allows for stretching to be better tolerated

Answer 9

utilize pain gate mechanism