Diathermy as a Physical Therapy Modality

摘要

The purpose of this assessment is to examine the clinical effectiveness of diathermy as a treatment. Diathermy, as a physical therapy modality, is the use of clinical hyperthermia equipment to produce localized deep heating of tissue. Three types of energy are converted into heat by: (1) shortwave, a radio frequency emission; (2) microwave, electromagnetic radiation; and (3) ultrasound, high frequency acoustic vibration. For each of the three types of diathermy, the rationale, basic components, therapeutic benefit, limitations, and perspectives from consultations will be presented and summarized.