Risks of Heat Therapy
Health and Wellness » Heat Therapy »Risks of Heat TherapyHeat therapy, also called thermotherapy is said to be a natural way for pain relief. There are many devices to apply heat therapy. You don’t need to visit a doctor to get heat therapy. Along with the benefits, there are also risks of heat therapy involved. Talk to your doctor before you buy one for yourself.
Methods of Heat Therapy
You can apply heat therapy in three methods. All these methods are used by the doctors; the methods are local, whole body and regional heat therapies. Application of these methods by a professional will give great relief to the entire body, whereas the heat therapies applied by a local will give relief only to the affected area. Body wraps are said to be effective on muscles spasms. Other devices are known for healing the affected area with high frequency waves. Regional therapy relives the entire area of the body which surrounds the affected area and also increases blood flow. Whole body therapy is known for treating cancer which has already spread.
Use of Heat Therapy
You can use heat therapy on chronic injuries and acute injuries as well. Heat therapy if applied before the exercise can warm up the muscles. Make sure you avoid applying heat therapy after exercise. It helps to make the blood flow smooth. It affects the circulatory system by dilating the blood vessels. It makes the healing process quick. It also boosts up the energy of the body promoting a rapid healing process.
Heat Therapy Risks
Though heat therapy has many advantages, do not ignore the risks involved in using this device. Whole body heat therapy if not applied under the supervision of an expert can be risky. It increases the chances of internal bleeding. Temperature must be under113 degrees Fahrenheit. It also causes burns if it is unsupervised. Usually, people having diabetes or heart diseases are not advised to use this device.
You should not use heat therapy when:
- There is heat injury
- Malignant tumors
- On unhealthy, damaged, or broken skin
- With pain rubs, medicated lotions, creams, or ointments
- Hyper or hypo-sensitive to heat
- On areas where bruising or swelling have occurred within 48 hours
- Some sensory changes (cannot feel if it is too hot)
- There is acute phase of injury
- DVT
- With heat cells applied to the back of the knee, inner fold of elbow, or the palm of the hand.
- Circulatory problems
- On people unable to follow the instructions or are unable to remove the product themselves, including young children, infants, and elderly.
- Infections
- With other forms of heat
Many heat therapy devices increase the blood flow to the area. If you have some kind of infection or tumors, heat would increase the chances of spreading the infection or cells of cancer.
Devices like hot compressor help to treat skin infection, but it can spread the germs if the compressor is not cleaned properly after use.
There are high chances of getting heart strokes or heat exhaustion if infrared heat therapy is used. It is advised to stop the therapy immediately, if your skin becomes red, you stop sweating or you feel tired. For pregnant women, person with artificial joints, silicone implants or having sensitive skin are not advised to use heat therapy. People having multiple sclerosis, SLE, adrenal suppression, etc. should avoid using infrared heat therapy.
If you are not sure about using the correct heat therapy, then talk to your doctor on risk of heat therapy and how to avoid it. Buying the one which suits you and your skin is advisable.