Thermal Effectiveness of Different IR Radiators Employed in Rheumatoid Hand Therapy as Assessed by Thermovisual Examination

Podbielska

2017

Thermal imaging is a safe, noninvasive, and quite low-cost technique that allows for the rapid and noninvasive recording of thermal radiation emitted by the human body. In recent years, it is increasingly used for physiotherapy monitoring. The main goal of the study was to compare the influence of two various treatments applied in two various orders, namely local cryotherapy (CRYO) and ultrasound therapy (US). The impact of combined therapies, applied in two various orders, was studied in terms of changes of the superficial temperature distribution on the front right thigh surface. The response to the therapy depending the treated persons' gender, along with a consensual reaction, was examined. The research material consisted of 30 healthy volunteers, 19-23-year old students, aged 19.93 (± 1.42). All treatments were performed at weekly intervals in the following order: in the first week, CRYO immediately followed by US, and in the second week, ultrasound immediately followed by local cryotherapy. All treatments were performed on the right quadriceps. The combined sequence of local cryotherapy and ultrasound therapy caused temperature decrease in the treated area regardless of their performance order. The temperature decrease considerably depends on the sequence of the applied treatments, and it was more significant after the ultrasound-cryotherapy sequence.Moreover, these changes also lasted longer. Statistically significant influence of the subjects' gender was observed in case of consensual reaction.

Section: Consensual Reactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Consensual Reactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of thermal imaging to assess the superficial skin temperature distribution after local cryotherapy and ultrasound

Podbielska

2017

“…The muscles relax and the extensibility of the connective tissue are increased. Local heat may also act through reflex mechanisms on the functioning of other organs [4][5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of the skin surface temperature on the front of thigh after application of combined red-IR radiation and diadynamic currents executed in a different sequence

Bauer

Kuczkowska

et al. 2015

Most physical treatments have thermal effects. Effect of heat on the body is not always uniform and depends on the treated body surface, the intensity of the stimulus, the stimulus duration, changes in the intensity of the stimulus and the physical environment. Thermovision is a method that allows for precise determination of the temperature distribution of the tested body surface. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of sequence of execution of infrared irradiation combined with visible light, for simplicity called further IR and diadynamic currents (called further DD) on the distribution of skin surface temperature. We also evaluated whether the order of execution of physical treatments affects the consensual reaction and temperature variations depending on sex and body mass index. The study involved 28 volunteers-16 women and 12 men aged 19-28 years. The treatments were performed on the front of right thigh in two sequences-IR-DD and DD-IR. For measuring the temperature distribution, there was thermovision used. In each sequence, there were five images captured with the use of FLIR T335 camera. The significance of changes in skin temperature was rated with Student's t test for dependent samples, whereas the dependence on the treatments sequence and sexual differentiation was analyzed with the use of test for independent samples, and the correlations were evaluated by determining the Pearson's r linear correlation coefficient. In the assessment of statistical significance, the critical threshold a = 0.05 was used. Regardless of the treatments sequence, the average surface temperature of the right thigh after IR radiation increased by more than 4°C. However, there were no significant temperature changes observed after the treatment with diadynamic currents. More dynamic changes in the average temperature values were stated in the sequence DD-IR, as 30 min after the second treatment, the temperature was higher as compared to the initial value by 1°C. Statistically significant sex-dependent differences occurred only after infrared radiation.

“…Thermal imaging is frequently used in the field of physiotherapy as a method that allows to assess the temperature distribution on the human skin after various physiotherapeutic procedures [5][6][7][8][9][10]. Thermal imaging in medical diagnostics is a valuable complement to routinely used diagnosis methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of thermovision for analysis of superficial temperature distribution changes after physiotherapy

Bauer

Ratajczak

et al. 2014

In physiotherapy, various physical agents are applied in order to combat pain, inflammation and to maximize the movement possibility of the treated person. Many physical modalities influence the body temperature; therefore, the therapy results may be directly visualized in terms of thermovision. The therapeutic doses and duration of treatment should be personalized according to the patient needs, feelings during the therapy, and the observed therapeutic results. Thermal imaging allows to visualize the skin temperature, as well as the temperature changes due to the physiotherapeutic procedures, and it is a helpful tool for therapy outcomes monitoring. In this paper, we analyzed the body response to therapeutic cooling (local cryotherapy) and heating (red and near infrared irradiation with special lamp) in two groups of volunteers: students (mean age 20.4) and older people (mean age 68.7). The physical agents were applied on the right thigh area. The mean temperatures in this areas were determined from thermal images before treatment, just after, and then 15 and 30 min after the therapy. The new MATLAB-based software was developed for image processing and analysis in selected regions of interests (ROI). The analysis revealed that in the case of heating the mean temperature returns to the initial one after 30 min in younger persons, whereas in elderly persons after 30 min it was still higher than that before the treatment. In the case of cooling, in older people the decrease of the mean temperature was smaller than in juniors. The analysis of temperature distribution in ROI in the untreated left leg revealed also that there is a systemic response to the physical agents, which was more visible after the application of cryotherapy. The thermovision allowed to find out the different responses to the physiotherapy in younger and older persons, what should be taken into account by therapy planning.