Diathermy are treatments that deliver energy to treat specific areas of the body. These treatments are typically used for the following purposes:
Relieve pain, stiffness and muscle spasms
. Reduce joint contractures.
What Does a diathermy do?
Diathermy, also called “deep heating,”
heats deep below the surface of your skin
. It targets muscles and joints to provide therapeutic benefits.
What conditions may be treated with diathermy?
-
arthritis.
-
back pain.
-
fibromyalgia.
-
muscle spasms.
-
myositis.
-
neuralgia.
-
sprains and strains.
-
tenosynovitis.
When would you use diathermy?
Diathermy is commonly used for
muscle relaxation
, and to induce deep heating in tissue for therapeutic purposes in medicine. It is used in physical therapy to deliver moderate heat directly to pathologic lesions in the deeper tissues of the body.
Does diathermy use radiation?
Microwave diathermy uses
radiation of very high frequency and short wavelength
similar to that used in microwave ovens; all physiologic responses are due to its heating effect.
How long does diathermy usually last?
A hypo-allergenic gel aids in the transmission of the ultrasonic energy and prevents overheating at the surface of the applicator. Treatments usually last
between five and 10 minutes
.
What is the difference between diathermy and ultrasound?
Diathermy uses electromagnetic energy and it heats up the tissue much deeper. If you have two plates touching the lateral and the medial knee, you would get heating 5 cm deep on one plate and 5 cm deep on the other plate. It
does heat deeper than ultrasound
and treats a larger area than ultrasound.
What is the difference between bipolar and monopolar diathermy?
There
is one basic difference
between bipolar and monopolar techniques. With monopolar electrosurgery, a probe electrode is used to apply the electrosurgical energy to the target tissue to achieve the desired surgical effect. ... With the bipolar electrosurgical method a bipolar device, often a set of forceps, is used.
What is the difference between diathermy and cautery?
Diathermy is produced by
rotation of molecular dipoles
in high frequency alternating electric field – the effect produced by a microwave oven. The term electrocautery is most often used in reference to a device in which a direct current is used to heat the cautery probe.
Where do you place diathermy plate?
☑ Position the
patient plate above electrically conducting tissue (muscle tissue)
whenever possible. ☑ Do not place the patient plate on top of fat tissue, bones/joints, skin folds or on the patient’s head. ☑ Attach the patient plate to healthy tissue if possible. Avoid scars, hemorrhages, tattoos.
Is diathermy the same as laser?
Diathermy devices produce electromagnetic waves from either the shortwave or microwave frequency ranges.
Lasers
produce electromagnetic waves from the visible light frequency range. Much higher frequencies are used to produce ultraviolet light and x-rays for diagnostic purposes.
What is a diathermy burn?
What is a Diathermy Burn? Diathermy is
a surgical technique that uses the heat generated by an electrical current to cut tissue or seal blood vessels
.
How does ultrasound work for pain?
The sound waves, or ultrasound rays, penetrate within the body generating heat increasing blood flow, and
relaxing muscles and connective tissues
thereby reducing pain and muscle spasms. The stimulation of these tissues in this way encourages repair and can greatly reduce the healing time of certain injuries.
Why is diathermy used in surgery?
Introduction. Diathermy is the
use of high frequency alternate polarity radio-wave electrical current to cut or coagulate tissue during surgery
. It allows for precise incisions to be made with limited blood loss and is now used in nearly all surgical disciplines.
Is shortwave diathermy harmful?
Leakage of electromagnetic fields (EMF) from short-wave radiofrequency physiotherapeutic diathermies (SWDs) may
cause health and safety hazards affecting
unintentionally exposed workers (W) or general public (GP) members (assisting patient exposed during treatment or presenting there for other reasons).
What are the physiological effects of microwave diathermy?
Low and Reed (1990) list the physiological effects caused by the increase in temperature produced by the microwave diathermy as raised metabolic rate,
increased blood flow, decreased tissue and blood viscosity, increased extensibility of collagen and effects on nerves leading to pain relief
.
