Fluidotherapy

Saturday, 22 December 2018 11:58 PM

Definition
Fluidotherapy is a modality of dry heat using a finely divided
solid suspended

Fluidotherapy is a unique, multifunctional physical medicine

modality.
The fluidotherapy unit is a dry heat modality that uses a
suspended air stream, which has the properties of a liquid.

Its therapeutic effectiveness in rehabilitation and healing is

based on its

ability to simultaneously
apply heat,
massage,
sensory stimulation for desensitization,
levitation, and
pressure oscillations

significantly elevating superficial skin temperature.

Unlike water, the dry, natural medium does not
irritate the skin or produce thermal shocks.
allows for much higher treatment temperatures
than with aqueous or paraffin heat transfer.
The pressure oscillations may actually minimize edema, even
at very high treatment temperatures.
Clinical success has been reported in treatment of pain,
range of motion, wounds, acute injuries, swelling, and blood
flow insufficiency.
Fluidotherapy treatment of the hand at 115° F (46.2° C)
results in a sixfold increase in blood flow and a fourfold
increase in metabolic rates in a normal adult.
These properties will increase blood flow, sedate, decrease
blood pressure, and promote healing by accelerating
biochemical reactions.

Counterirritation, through mechanoreceptor and

thermoreceptor stimulation, reduces pain sensitivity, thus
permitting high temperatures without painful heat
sensations. Pronounced hyperthermia accelerates the
chemical metabolic processes and stimulates the normal
healing pro- cess. The high temperatures enhance tissue
elastic- ity and reduce tissue viscosity, which improves
musculoskeletal mobility. Vascular responses are stimulated
by long-lasting hyperthermia and pres- sure fluctuations,
resulting in increased blood flow to the injured area.

Equipment Needed.
1. Choose the appropriate fluidotherapy unit (Figure 4–14).
2. Toweling

Treatment.
The patient must be positioned for comfort.
The patient should place the body segment to be treated
(hand or foot) in the fluidotherapy unit. Protective toweling
must be placed at the unit interface and body segment.
Treatment time should be 15–20 minutes

Physiologic Responses.
Tissue temperature increases. Pain relief occurs.
Thermal hyperthermia occurs.

Considerations.
Fluidotherapy unit must be kept clean. All knobs must be
returned to zero after treatment.

Application.
The patient should be positioned comfortably. The treated
body segment should be submerged in the medium before
the unit is turned on. There is no thermal shock when heat is
applied. Treatments are approximately 20 minutes.
Recommended temperature varies by body part and patient
tolerance, with a range of 110–125° F (43–53° C). Maximum
temperature rise in the treated part occurs after 15 minutes
of treatment. Unless contraindicated, active and passive
exercise are encouraged during treatment.
In case of open lesions or infections, a protective dressing is
recommended to prevent soiling or contaminating the cloth
entry ports. Patients with splints, bandages, tape, orthopedic
pins, plastic joint replacement, and artificial tendons may be
treated with fluidotherapy. The medium is clean and will not
soil clothing. It is not necessary to disrobe to get the full
benefit of heat and massage; however, direct contact
between skin and the medium is desirable to maximize heat
transfer.
In treating the hands, muscles, ankles, and conditions that
manifest themselves relatively near the surface of the skin,
appreciably higher body temperatures can be achieved using
superficial heating modalities. Further, the superficial
modalities treat a larger area of the body than ultrasound or
microwave diathermies, thus the total amount of heat
absorbed will be much higher. Fluidotherapy, hydrotherapy,
and paraffin cause about the same amount of temperature
increase.

Treatment Protocols: Fluidotherapy

With the agitation off, open the sleeved portion of the unit.
Instruct patient to insert body part into the cellulose
particles, reminding her to tell you if the temperature is too
hot.
Fasten the sleeve around the body part to prevent the
cellulose particles from being blown out of the unit, and start
the agitation.
Check the patient’s response verbally after about 5 minutes.
Remind the patient to tell you if the heating sensation
becomes uncomfortable.