Gymna-2019-2020 - Flipbook - Side 91
TECAR & Diathermy
Diathermy
an effective complement to Manual therapy
The basic principle of diathermy, generating deep heat in the body, dates
back to sometime around 1925. As is often done in physical therapy, the method and
indications have been applied through the years based on experience alone. In the past
15 years, sound scientific research has been conducted into these techniques.
A striking study by David Draper in
2014 may be cited out of a series of
publications in the past decade. In his
publication, Pulsed Shortwave Diathermy
and Joint Mobilizations for Achieving
Normal Elbow Range of Motion After
Injury or Surgery With Implanted Metal,
Draper studied to what extent treatment
using a 27 MHz shortwave contributed
to repairing the range of motion of
the elbow joint. Patients with a prior
history of ulna and/or radial fractures
were included in the abovementioned
study. All of them were left with an active
extension restriction because of this. The
functional consequences of this are
known: difficulty in reaching an object,
throwing it, etc.
THE STUDY DEMONSTRATED GOOD
RESULTS RELATED TO THE PHYSICAL
EFFECT OF DIATHERMY AND
WHERE TECHNOLOGY MUST
FEATURE IN THE TREATMENT PLAN.
of 20 minutes of pulsed shortwave
diathermy (800 Hz, 400 µs, 40-48 W)
immediately followed by 7 to 8 minutes
of manual therapy (Maitland level III and
IV), followed by a 30-minute cool-down.
The study demonstrated good results
related to the physical effect of diathermy
and the point at which the method
must be included in the treatment plan.
Similar studies demonstrated parallel
results and Kaltenborn et al. (2002),
one of the pioneers of manual therapy,
even emphasises the importance of
diathermy in order to reach the deeper
tissue.
A great deal of the literature shows
that combined heat therapy and joint
mobilisations have a positive effect.
As a matter of fact, modern shortwave
devices can easily heat up a joint, such
as an elbow, to above 40°C. This is ideal
for improving the viscoelastic properties
of the collagen. With this information in
the back of his mind, the author wrote
up a treatment protocol that consisted
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