COULD HEAT THERAPY BE AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR SARCOPENIA?
Introduction
These days muscle pain and spasms have become the most common complaint of many working men and women. To avoid this pain most of them rely upon spa’s to lessen their pain. One of the main techniques used in the spa’s to reduce muscle pain is heat therapy. This nonpharmacological technique helps in reducing the muscle pain as it vasodilates the muscle causing the blood flow to increase at the site of inflammation or injury (Mohammadpour et al. 2014). Due to an increase in the blood supply, the oxygen levels also rise which reduces the amount of inflammatory facilitators and triggers heat shock proteins. With the latest rehabilitation benefits, heat therapy is being used for curing many problems because of its positive feedback.
Though many researches proved heat therapy to be effective in curing most of the complications but there are also many researches which are sceptical of its potency. Heat therapy has also been considered to damage or burn the tissue beneath the skin to which the heat has been exposed for a long time (Zelger, 2005). Despite of this conclusion many people still accept heat therapy as a good option. This leaves us to the question whether or not heat therapy is effective or not in treating any muscle related problems specially sarcopenia?
What is sarcopenia?
Sarcopenia is considered to be the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass and it’s functioning due to aging (Waters, Baumgartner & Garry 2000). It is linked to muscle atrophy which is shortening of the muscle. It can be mostly noticed in fast twitch fibres which usually fatigue easily and provide a larger amount of force in comparison to slow twitch fibres. Sarcopenia is usually ...
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...le of either the soleus or EDL muscle but it is not necessary that the same effects can be noticed in humans. As stated in one research article, heat therapy can be used to treat sarcopenia but only when used with antioxidants such as catechin. Heat shock proteins such as eHSP72 can also be harmful if administered with cytokines and be a cause of sarcopenia. According to article stated above, HSPs do not affect humans with sarcopenia but the data obtained were preliminary as it was one of the first experiments testing humans. Thus, further research is still needed in this field. Without any proven extensive scientific research on humans to provide basis for this concept it is hard to say heat therapy can be used as a treatment for sarcopenia. As of now if questioned; ‘Could heat therapy be an effective treatment for sarcopenia?’ The answer is more likely to be a NO.
Maintaining normal core body temperature (normothermia) in patients within perioperative environments is both a challenging and important aspect to ensure patient safety, comfort and positive surgical outcomes (Tanner, 2011; Wu, 2013; Lynch, Dixon & Leary, 2010). Normorthermia is defined as temperatures from 36C to 38C, and is maintained through thermoregulation which is the balance between heat loss and heat gain (Paulikas, 2008). When normothermia is not maintained within the perioperative environments, and the patient’s core body temperature drops below 36C, they are at risk of developing various adverse consequences due to perioperative hypothermia (Wagner, 2010). Perioperative hypothermia is classified into three
This report will explore the structure and function of skeletal muscle within the human body. There are three muscle classifications: smooth (looks smooth), cardiac (looks striated) and skeletal (looks striated). Smooth muscle is found within blood vessels, the gut and the intestines; it assists the movement of substances by contracting and relaxing, this is an involuntary effort. The heart is composed of cardiac muscle, which contracts rhythmically nonstop for the entire duration of a person’s life and again is an involuntary movement of the body. The main focus of this report is on skeletal muscle and the movement produced which is inflicted by conscious thought unless there is a potentially harmful stimulus and then reaction is due to reflex, as the body naturally wants to protect itself. Skeletal muscle is found attached to bones and when they contract and relax they produce movement, there is a specific process that the muscle fibers go through to allow this to occur.
In distinction, an alternative way of treatment can be efficient in various circumstances and there is a common approval that its methods can be valuable and advant...
Studies on muscle typing and its potential to differentiate were widely conducted throughout the last 50 years. It began with publications by Buller et al in 1960 which suggested evidence that the central nervous system controls muscle differentiation. This resulted from the inability of slow muscle differentiation in a cat limb after being operated from the spinal cord. They further postulated that the division and cross-unit of nerves of fast and slow muscles would move the motoneurones that was formerly innervating fast muscle to innervate slow muscle. They then applied this cross-innervation technique to investigate the possible effects in reverse contractile characteristics[1]. It has been documented that chronic electrical stimulation, muscle ablation, hindlimb suspension and hormone manipulation have been used to cause changes in metabolic enzymes, Ca2+ handling proteins , myosin isoforms and regulatory proteins of skeletal muscle and muscle fiber type and size. John Holloszy’s classic paper (1967) provides evidence on the malleability of rat muscles and the adaptation of their energy metabolism to chronic exercise training through simple physiological stimulus. This comes to the two classic papers on hand by Gollnick et al in 1972 and 1973, where they address the idea of fibre type plasticity in human skeletal muscle by using fiber typing and needle biopsy of muscle. The initial interest stemmed from the early work of Reggie Edgerton et al, which provided critical data on the development of fiber type classification systems. Furthermore, Edgerton’s investigation introduced other researchers to the idea of exercise-induced fiber type transformation in rodent muscle.[2] This lead Gollnick and his colle...
This paper explores some of the manual therapy methods, and the effects on which different parts of the human body. While the paper focus more on the positive effects of the different styles of manual therapy, the paper also explores any available reports on any risk of adverse events involving with manual therapies. Carnes, Mars, Mullinger, Froud, and Underwood (2010) suggest taking drug therapy causes a greater risk than with manual therapy. According to A. Bokarius and V. Bokarius (2010), “manual therapy is a widely used method for managing such conditions, but to date, its efficacy has not been established (p. 451). The purpose of this paper is to define what manual therapy is and offers some examples of manual therapy techniques
Controlled increases in physical stress through progressive resistive exercise cause muscle fibers to hypertrophy and become capable of generating greater force.3 Early emphasis is on restoring joint range of motion and muscle flexibility, however, resistive exercises are not delayed. The initial emphasis of muscle loading should be on endurance, accomplished with lower loads and higher repetitions. Progressive resistive exercises are initiated at the available range and progressed to new positions as wrist range of motion returns in all planes. Both the overload principle and the SAID Principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) are important considerations in therapeutic exercise dosing.1,3,11 Within pain tolerance, dosing progressive resistive exercises that maintain a therapeutic stress level will encourage muscle tissue hypertrophy. Finding activities that produce the correct force and repetition, without injury, is the goal of the remobilization period. Starting with low force, moderate to high repetitions, and encouraging therapeutic rest following induced stress is important to both the overload principle and the SAID Principle. Additionally, it is important to prevent dosing resistive exercises that exceed optimal stress, which may result in injury. The patient’s response to therapeutic exercise should be assessed during, immediately following,
This is when pressure is applied to the hands or feet by a thumb technique with no lotion. There are different points on the feet are related to different parts of the body. It has been shown that reflexology helps with pain and stiffness in Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferers. The patients also claim that due to reflexology they have used less painkillers and generally feel healthier.
Muscles come in all shapes and sizes and around 700 of them call the human body their home. This human body system is responsible for both conscious and unconscious movement. Muscles help make up almost every area of the human body and enable us to do many, if not most, of our daily routines. About half of our weight is due to muscle mass. Each one is made up of nerves, skeletal muscle tissue, blood vessels, and tendons. As we age, a variety of problems can arise as our muscles get older and older. However, there are certain things we can do currently that will help improve our future muscular health.
There are many aspects on the study and meaning of kinesiology. Some of these ways are; applied kinesiology, kinesiology medicine research, and specialized and energy kinesiology. The study kinesiology and massage therapy is believed to go hand and hand. Many will say that without the proper knowledge of kinesiology and muscle movements, you can not provide a patent with all that is needed for a proper massage. As we approach new years, many individuals are increasing their concern in health. With the healing arts increasing in popularity, individuals don’t understand the need for well-rounded therapist. Who are trained in the science of kinesiology, which includes the technique of massage to enable them to be proficient in their field.
* Heat and Cold Therapy has been used for centuries to manage soft tissue and joint injuries while relieving pain.
PTs have many different treatments that they use on their patients. Massaging and whirlpool baths to loosen and relax muscles are just two of the many treatments PTs perform daily. They also use ice or cold water baths to reduce swelling and heat to relieve pain. One form of strength training that is common for PTs to use is water therapy in exercise pools if the patient cannot walk yet. After a patient’s surgery, their PT will massage the scar tissue to keep it from hardening and making the scar bigger. A PT will work with athletes after an injury so they can regain coordination, strength, endurance, range of motion, and flexibility.
In our muscles, Lactic acid (CH3CH(OH)COOH) acts as a poison. If we can expel the lactic acid from the muscles by some process, they can again become fit for working.
Since the patient cannot use glycose as a form of energy for the muscle I would expect this patient to use fuels such as fatty acids and proteins.
This is a great therapy if there is a spasm in a back or neck muscle. It works well in relaxing the muscle and allowing it to return to its normal state rather quickly. Short therapy sessions are excellent at facilitating healing from acute and chronic
In many cases, an injury is caused by a range of factors working together. For example, persistent back pain may be triggered by a combination of poor posture, being overweight, repetitive work-related activities and incorrect technique when playing sport. Exercise is the most widely used and best known type of physical therapy. Depending on the patient's condition, exercises may be performed by the patient alone or with the therapist's help, or with the therapist moving the patient's limbs. Exercise equipment for physical therapy could include an exercise table or mat, a stationary bicycle, walking aids, a wheelchair, practice stairs, parallel bars, and pulleys and weights. Heat treatment is used to stimulate the patient's circulation, relax muscles, and relieve pain. Cold treatment is applied with ice packs or cold-water soaking. Soaking in a whirlpool can ease muscle spasm pain and help strengthen movements. Massage aids circulation, helps the patient relax, relieves pain and muscle spasms, and reduces swelling. Very low strength electrical currents applied through the skin stimulate muscles and make them contract, helping paralyzed or weakened muscles respond again. (TheFreeDictionary.com,