Thermotherapy for Pain

Thermotherapy or Heat Therapy, is the use of heat in therapy. The therapeutic effects of heat include increasing extensibility of soft tissues, decreasing joint stiffness, reducing pain, relieving muscle spasms, and increasing blood flow to speed up the healing process. There are 2 different types of heat, either moist or dry. A dry heat tends to act more on the surface of the skin while a moist heat will penetrate deeper to improve therapeutic effects. The most common form of heat application in rehabilitation is the use of moist hot packs (Hydrocollator packs).