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Deep heating of body tissues as a treatment for pain, spasm, stiffness and inflammation, as applied in the physiotherapy department, may include short-wave diathermy which causes heating of the tissues with higher electrolyte content in response to electromagnetic radiation passed through the body.
The frequency employed is usually 27 MHz, applied by placing two large insulated metal electrodes, one each side of the region to be treated. The tissue acts as the dielectric in a capacitor, and heat is liberated due to the dielectric loss. The same effect can be brought about using a spiral or helix of wire to produce an oscillating magnetic field within the body which will induce currents having the same effect. This is called inductothermy and may be used to apply heating on a single flat surface where the two electrode approach would not be possible. Sometimes the effect is produced by winding an insulated wire around the limb being treated. The flat inductive 'pancake' coil produces heating up to 40 mm below the skin.
Content and Design Copyright 2000 Dr. Malcolm C Brown. See Title Page for more details