General Treatment Guidelines: Once informed consent has been obtained, the treatment can start. 1* It is usually best to have told the person ahead of time not to eat a large meal before a treatment, especially with larger scale or more intense modalities. There are several reasons for this: a• While digestion is occurring, substantial blood flow is directed to the digestive organs. Temperature applications that alter this may produce symptoms like nausea, and there is a risk of promoting abnormal local blood flow patterns. b• Digesting a large meal usually results in a decreased energy level – not ideal when the body is being asked to handle an intense therapeutic modality. c• After a large meal, certain positions appropriate for a temperature therapy treatment, such as lying face down, may be uncomfortable. 2* It is also best to have the person void her or his bladder before beginning the treatment so there is less chance of interruption. 3* Always make sure that the treatment room is clean and calm. It should also be free of drafts because it is important that the person receiving the treatment not become chilled. If she or he arrives cold, use a warming application before starting the treatment. While this may seem obvious when planning to use cryotherapy, even with thermotherapy applications the person should not be cold before beginning the treatment since the temperature difference between the tissue and the heating agent will be greater than intended. 4* Be sure to maintain your equipment well, and check any materials you will need for an upcoming treatment to make sure that they are clean, working, full, and ready to be used. Before starting, ensure that everything you will need is readily available so there will be no need to leave the room. 5* You should never leave an individual during a temperature therapy treatment. If you absolutely must leave, give the person an easy way to contact you (for example, a bell). This is particularly important if you are doing any type of full body treatment. 6* Before beginning, ensure that the person or the target tissue is clean, as is appropriate to the size of the planned application. Have the individual remove any jewellery, particularly with hot treatments. If jewellery takes on the temperature of a thermotherapy or cryotherapy treatment, tissue damage can result. 7* Once everything is ready, position and drape appropriately. The person should be comfortable (anticipate the length of time to be spent in the selected position) and appropriately draped to preserve privacy while still uncovering the tissue(s) to be treated. The application can now begin. 8* During both local and full body treatments, watch the individual for signs of discomfort such as a very flshed or pale face, shallow breathing, or sounding weak or disoriented. Ask pertinent questions about the temperature, the person’s overall comfort, any feelings of nausea or faintness, shortness of breath, any pain or unusual sensations, and so on. If the person reports – or you observe – any problems, make suitable adjustments. If you see any negative reactions (discussed shortly), stop the treatment. Many people believe in the adage ‘no pain, no gain’ and will not tell you if the application becomes uncomfortable or painful. This saying has no place in temperature therapy. Make sure your client understands the need to keep you informed. 9* At all costs, avoid over-treating. With temperature therapy, more is definitely not better. A good rule to follow is as cold as possible, as hot as necessary. If you want the target tissue to be cooled, choose as cold a temperature as the individual can tolerate. The same is not true for heat, however. If the person says that the temperature could be hotter, you still have an upper limit of heat that you can apply (45ºC/113ºF); anything hotter will cause tissue breakdown and burning.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 08:09:41 +0000
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