Abstract

Objective: To compare tissue temperature rise and decay after 20-minute diathermy and ultrasound treatments. Design and Setting: We inserted 3 26-gauge thermistor microprobes into the medial aspect of the anesthetized triceps surae muscle at a depth of 3 cm and spaced 5 cm apart. Eight subjects received the diathermy treatment first, followed by the ultrasound treatment. This sequence was reversed for the remaining 8 subjects. The diathermy was applied at a frequency of 27.12 MHz at the following settings: 800 bursts per second, 400-microsecond burst duration, 850-microsecond interburst interval, peak root mean square amplitude of 150 W per burst, and an average root mean square output of 48 W per burst. The ultrasound was delivered at a frequency of 1 MHz and an intensity of 1.5 W/cm2 in the continuous mode for 20 minutes over an area of 40 times the effective radiating area. The study was performed in a ventilated research laboratory. Subjects: Sixteen (11 men, 5 women) healthy subjects (mean age = 23.56 ± 4.73 years) volunteered to participate in this study. Measurements: We recorded baseline, final, and decay temperatures for each of the 3 sites. Results: The average temperature increases over baseline temperature after pulsed short-wave diathermy were 3.02°C ± 1.02°C in site 1, 4.58°C ± 0.87°C in site 2, and 3.28°C ± 1.64°C in site 3. The average temperature increases over baseline temperature after ultrasound were only 0.17°C ± 0.40°C, 0.09°C ± 0.56°C, and -0.43°C ± 0.41°C in sites 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The temperature dropped only 1°C in 7.65 ± 4.96 minutes after pulsed short-wave diathermy. Conclusions: We conclude that pulsed short-wave diathermy was more effective than 1-MHz ultrasound in heating a large muscle mass and resulted in the muscles' retaining heat longer. Verf.-Referat