The Effect Of Subcutaneous Adipose On Intramuscular Temperature During And After Pulsed Shortwave Diathermy

Context: Pulsed shortwave diathermy (PSWD) treatments are used in the clinical setting for deep heating. Subcutaneous adipose tissue may have an effect on the muscle temperature increases during PSWD treatment and the return of muscle temperature to baseline after PSWD treatment. Objective: To determine the effect of subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness on the heating effectiveness of a 20-minute PSWD treatment and the rate of temperature decay over 15 minutes in both the vastus lateralis (VL) and paraspinal (PS) muscles of males and females. Conclusions: These data suggest that subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness may affect the penetration of PSWD because the HA group demonstrated significantly lower temperature increases at the end of 20 minutes of treatment. Excess subcutaneous adipose may also insulate the heated muscle and reduce the rate of temperature decay especially in muscles that are more peripheral to the core.