The Use of Heat

On a patient in physical therapy there is a lot of stretching for strengthening that has to be done. When a physical therapist stretches a patient it enhances muscle extensibility, but sometimes a physical therapist has to use heat on the area to get the muscles to loosen up more. When recovering from an injury, patients usually go a long time without moving the injured area, for say a leg, because it causes too much pain. Keeping the leg straight or bend for an extensive amount of time the muscles tighten up and make it difficult to bend or straighten the leg all the way.

             As I've seen with my mentor, Emily Sevilla, when she has a patient who isn't able to straighten or bend the leg all the way, she applies heat. Applying heat to the muscle that has been stiff allows it to relax and loosen up. The heat is usually left on the leg for roughly around 10 to 15 minutes to really have an effect on the muscle. Once the heat is removed and she begins to bend or straighten the patients leg and there is less pain and more flexibility.   

An example of a heating pad