The effect of cold pack and hot pack hydrotherapy on blood perfusion in the upper limb
Item
- Title
- The effect of cold pack and hot pack hydrotherapy on blood perfusion in the upper limb
- Author(s)
- Latef Yassien
- Abstract
-
ABSTRACTHydrotherapy has been used in the promotion of health and treatment of disease for hundreds of years. It is used today by naturopaths in several different forms, and is advised to patients in the British College of Osteopathic Medicine Clinic. One of simplest forms of hydrotherapy treatments is the use of hot and cold packs. Cold packs are prescribed to patients in the form of a prepared handout sheet, while no advice is given as such on the use of hot packs, based on the classical naturopathic view that hot treatments alone are detrimental.
As scientific research into naturopathic hydrotherapy is scarce, this study sought to assess the effects of cold packs, as prescribed in the clinic, and the effects of hot packs.
The study was carried out on twelve healthy subjects, using laser Doppler flowmetry to measure changes in blood perfusion in the dominant upper limb on application of hot and cold packs. Each subject attended three sessions; a hot session, a cold session, and a control session in which no pack was applied. In each session, continuous measurement of blood flow began for 5 minutes before a pack, depending on the session, was applied to the arm for 5 minutes. Readings continued for a further ten minutes to assess any delayed effects.
Using a repeated measures ANOVA test, it was found that neither hot nor cold packs produced a significant change in blood perfusion before or after application. It was thus concluded that hot and cold packs as prepared in this trial were not sufficient to affect blood flow. However, it was recognized that the procedure was subject to a number of faults, which rendered the results unreliable. It is therefore recommended that further study should be carried out into the effects of naturopathic hydrotherapy methods. - presented at
- British College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Date Accepted
- 0
- Date Submitted
- 1.1.1970 00:00:00
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 13592
- Inst-Identifier
- 1076
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Latef Yassien, “The effect of cold pack and hot pack hydrotherapy on blood perfusion in the upper limb”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 4, 2025, https://www.osteopathic-research.org/s/orw/item/1165