Who does not know it, the soothing effect of a hot water bottle on the aching belly? This is also heat therapy. The healing effect of heat is one of the oldest medical findings. Among other things, it helps to alleviate pain or relieve cramps and has a positive and healing effect on various diseases.
What is heat therapy?
Heat therapy is the application of heat to the body. Usually, heat therapy is applied locally on specific areas, such as on joints, on muscle groups or on organs. Heat therapy is the application of heat to the body. As a rule, heat therapy is applied locally to specific areas, such as joints, muscle groups or organs. Various media are used to deliver the heat, such as red light lamps, warm air, mud packs or hot compresses. The heat causes the vessels in the affected areas of the body to dilate, thus improving blood circulation. The muscles relax as a result and the nerves conduct the heat to the pain center. Certain chemical processes then take place there, reducing the sensation of pain. Metabolism is stimulated by the heat therapy and waste products of the body are removed more quickly. When the entire body is heated, this is referred to as therapeutic hyperthermia, a special treatment method in cancer treatment. This method has a different mechanism of action and does not belong to the field of heat therapy.
Function, effect, application and goals
Heat therapy is applied in several ways. The simplest and most familiar forms are the hot water bottle, the grain pillow heated in the oven, the electric heating pad or moist hot compresses. All of these can be used comfortably at home, for example, for abdominal pain, menstrual cramps or muscle tension and joint pain. But warm foot or arm baths also belong to the category of heat therapy. Warm steam baths help with colds, especially when sinuses are congested. Another method is irradiation by means of a special infrared light lamp. This emits heat, which is able to penetrate into the body tissues without direct contact with the respective body parts. Red light irradiation is used to treat colds, to relieve pain, muscle tension, rheumatic complaints or to reduce fat cells. The application of red light can be carried out well at home. However, it is important to keep the lamp at a sufficient distance from the body to avoid burns and to protect the eyes. Especially children should always wear special protective goggles during irradiation, because the penetration depth of the heat rays is greater than the thickness of the eyelid and can damage the eye. Heat therapy in the form of fango or mud packs are used in physiotherapy practices before massages to loosen the muscles. Fango, healing earth, moor or mud are materials that can store heat for a very long time and also contain valuable minerals. The warm wraps dilate the vessels in the skin and the minerals can be well absorbed by the body. The heat therapy improves the blood circulation and so the minerals can be better transported in the bloodstream into the body, where they develop their healing effect. The wraps are usually left on the body for 45 minutes, and after heat therapy there should still be a rest period of about 30 minutes.
Risks, side effects and dangers
However, as effective as heat therapy is, it should not be used in certain cases. Heat should not be applied in all inflammatory processes in the body, as well as in cases of bleeding, fever and infection, and severe circulatory disorders. Diabetics must be very careful when applying heat therapy, because they often have reduced sensation. As a result, they run the risk of not recognizing a treatment that is too hot, causing burns or other damage to their bodies. Some people may experience side effects from heat therapy such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, or even fainting. In this case, heat therapy should be stopped immediately at the onset of symptoms and counteracted with cold treatment, such as cold casts or compresses.Epileptics should also refrain from heat therapy, as there is a possibility that the heat may aggravate the disease. Heat therapy should also not be used for tuberculosis.
