Department of Physical Therapy, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California 92350, USA.
Physiother Theory Pract. 2010 Feb;26(2):107-12. doi: 10.3109/09593980802640059.
Hydrotherapy and whirlpool are used to increase skin blood flow and warm tissue. However, recent evidence seems to show that part of the increase in skin blood flow is not due to the warmth itself but due to the moisture content of the heat. Therefore, two series of experiments were accomplished on 10 subjects with an average age of 24.2 +/- 9.7 years and free of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Subjects sat in a 37 degrees C hydrotherapy pool under two conditions: one in which a thin membrane protecting their skin from moisture while their arm was submerged in water and the second where their arm was allowed to be exposed to the water for 15 minutes. During this period of time, skin and body temperature were measured as well as skin blood flow by a Laser Doppler Imager. The results of the experiments showed that the vapor barrier blocked any change in skin moisture content during submersion in water, and while skin temperature was the same as during exposure to the water, the blood flow with the arm exposed to water increased from 101.1 +/- 10.4 flux to 224.9 +/- 18.2 flux, whereas blood flow increased to only 118.7 +/- 11.4 flux if the moisture of the water was blocked. Thus, a substantial portion of the increase in skin blood flow associated with warm water therapy is probably associated with moisturizing of the skin rather than the heat itself.
水疗和漩涡浴用于增加皮肤血流量和温暖组织。然而，最近的证据似乎表明，皮肤血流量的增加部分不是由于热量本身，而是由于热量的水分含量。因此，在 10 名平均年龄为 24.2 +/- 9.7 岁且无糖尿病和心血管疾病的受试者中完成了两系列实验。受试者坐在 37 度的水疗池下，处于两种条件下：一种是用薄膜保护皮肤免受水分，同时手臂浸入水中，另一种是手臂暴露在水中 15 分钟。在此期间，通过激光多普勒成像仪测量皮肤和体温以及皮肤血流量。实验结果表明，蒸汽屏障阻止了手臂浸入水中时皮肤水分含量的任何变化，尽管皮肤温度与暴露在水中时相同，但暴露在水中的手臂的血流量从 101.1 +/- 10.4 通量增加到 224.9 +/- 18.2 通量，而如果阻止水的水分，则血流量仅增加到 118.7 +/- 11.4 通量。因此，与温水疗法相关的皮肤血流量的大量增加可能与皮肤的保湿有关，而不是与热量本身有关。
