The influence of thermotherapy on the human body
The influence of heat energy delivered from the outside to the body depends on many factors, but first of all on the size of the body surface affected by the heat treatment. If during the overheating we affect small areas, physiological effects directly affect local changes, while changes in distant parts of the body and organs are secondary changes. When using heat on large body surfaces, physiological effects are the result of stimulation of systemic thermoregulation and affect all organs and systems of the human body.
Physiological changes during thermotherapy treatments result in:
• stimulation and increased activity of thermoreceptors and sensory fibers
• stimulation of centrifugal nerve fibers, which can affect the mechanisms of the core gland, responsible for controlling the pain stimuli delivered to the central nervous system
• reduction of muscle tone through the heat supplied to muscle spindles and Golgi endings in muscle tendons
• the reaction of the surface blood vessels and deeper to the thermal factor, acting locally and generally
• increased blood flow in blood vessels and organs and increased exchange of tissue fluids.