A group of researchers has discovered new information regarding reducing the detrimental effects of inactivity through the use of passive heat therapy, which involves heating muscles for therapeutic purposes. Their research demonstrates that this approach virtually prevents a near 30% loss in arterial health that occurs when people become less physically active, possibly owing to injury.
Some Of Exercise’s Vascular Effects Can Replicate By Heat Therapy
The experts who have carried out a study in this regard have noted the effects of heat generated by the body and consumed. The same effects can be offered with the help of external heat with the help of a specific device where one can have similar benefits without having done any exercise.
Data repeatedly reveals that exercise is important for well-being in practically every aspect of life; its benefits are undeniable. But what happens when people are forced to sit on the sidelines for some time, possibly through no fault of their own? Heat therapy, in essence, maintains arterial health in people who have reduced physical activity as if they had continued to exercise.
“Whenever people enter periods of low physical activity, their cardiovascular system and muscles respond by decreasing function and getting smaller,” said BYU exercise sciences professor Jayson Gifford. “This all contributes to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
For injured people wearing casts, elderly populations astronauts and even self-quarantined individuals anyone in a movement-restricting situation the risk of cardiovascular disease and muscle atrophy could potentially be lessened by passive heat therapy.”
Following an investigation into 21 healthy participants who had their lower limbs unused for ten days, the study was published recently in the Journal of Physiology by Robert Hyldahl Brad Nelson and four students.
Each trial participant wore a movement-restricting knee brace, with half of the participants receiving daily 2-hour heat therapy on the knee extensor muscles and the other half receiving a placebo treatment. Differences in vascular health, a word used to describe blood vessel well-being, were rigorously examined in both groups.
“Just by not moving for about two weeks, some college-age subjects’ arteries responded as if they were 55 or 60 years old instead of 20 years old,” said Gifford, speaking of those who received the placebo treatment. “This contrasted with little to no change in the vascular health of those treated with heat.”
Gifford and his team can raise awareness of endothelial function by examining vascular health and the overall well-being of participants’ arteries before and after the therapy. It releases molecules that affect blood coagulation, immunological function, and vascular relaxation and is extremely crucial for cardiovascular health.
Reduced endothelial function is associated with a lack of physical activity, which increases the risk of plaque formation, blood clots, and heart attacks.
The passive heat therapy was carried out using a technique known as pulsed shortwave diathermy. Radio waves are emitted by this equipment which heats the muscle. The method can be time-consuming due to the heating machine lying on top of patients in the muscle area being treated, but it does not cause pain or discomfort.
“Overall exercise appears to yield many benefits not captured by heat therapy,” Gifford said. “But looking down the road, people who aren’t in a position to exercise can have a lot more hope for their overall well-being.”
These dangers encourage the team to research strategies to assist persons who feel powerless to engage in physical activity. The researchers intend to broaden their research to include other heat-based therapy approaches.
The equipment they employed isn’t widely available. They’ll be evaluating the efficacy of more widely available heat therapy approaches, including a future study on the effects of sauna use on vascular health.
