The effect of arm baths on the cardiovascular system

Item

Title
The effect of arm baths on the cardiovascular system
Author(s)
Johnson Debbie
Abstract
This study was designed to investigate scientifically what changes are effected on the cardiovascular system in response to hydrotherapy arm baths. Twenty healthy female students from the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy volunteered, and attended two sessions in the hydrotherapy and exercise physiology laboratory. The first session consisted of a ten minute rest period comparing blood pressure, pulse rate and core temperature before and afterwards. This acted as a control. Then subjects hada 1 minute cold arm bath, with readings taken before, directly after intervention, and then again ten minutes afterwards. In the second session which was timed to be approximately one week later, subjects had an alternate hot and cold arm bath, and againreadings were compared before, after and ten minutes later. Using the two-tailed match-paired t-test (p<0.05 = significant), it was shown that there was some effect on the cardiovascular system in each intervention and measurement. Systolic blood pressure increased significantly directly after cold arm baths, and then diastolic blood pressure increased significantly ten minutes after cold treatment. As for hot and cold intervention, temperature increased significantly afterwards, and remained significantly higher ten minutes later. There was also some significant effect after the control readings, both systolic blood pressure and pulse both decreased significantly after ten minutes rest.
Date Accepted
2002
Date Submitted
1.11.2003 00:00:00
Type
undergraduate_project
Language
English
Number of pages
56
Submitted by:
62
Pub-Identifier
13000
Inst-Identifier
1076
Keywords
Hydrotherapy
Recommended
0
Item sets
Thesis

Johnson Debbie, “The effect of arm baths on the cardiovascular system”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 3, 2025, https://www.osteopathic-research.org/s/orw/item/1338