Heat and cold therapy
Heat and cold therapyThe application of heat is often used as a preparatory and supportive measure for physiotherapeutic treatments, as it stimulates blood flow and relieves pain on the muscles and other tissue (e.g. joint capsule). There are different thermal therapies.
Warm pack: It usually consists of natural moor or fango and has a circulation-promoting, muscle-relaxing and pain-relieving effect, e.g. in rheumatic diseases. Hot air: With special emitters, body regions can be heated and thus their blood circulation stimulated. Patients who are reluctant to be “wrapped up” with mud or mud can usually relax better with this hot air therapy.
There are also various forms of cold therapy: cold packs, ice plunge baths, ice rubbing with ice cubes or compresses filled with ice water that are individually shaped for individual joints (knees, feet). The ice treatments have very different effects depending on the temperature and duration:
- Pain relief
- Anti-inflammatory
- Reduction of swelling in swollen joints
- Improvement or reduction in blood flow
