Evaluation of the thermal factor in the vacuum therapy

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the work was to analyse changes in values of temperatures measured inside the cup and on the surface of the skin in the place where the cup was applied, using two slightly different variants of applying hot glass cups. Methods: The temperature was measured using two measuring instruments, the so-called multimeters, which were connected by wires with two K-type probes (thermocouples). One of them measured the temperature of the skin covered by the cup, and the other – the temperature inside the cup. Results: In variant I at the beginning of the test the temperature of the interior of the cup was 48.4°C, and of the skin inside the cup was 40.3°C. The difference between the temperature inside the cup and the temperature of the skin was therefore 8.1°C, i.e. 16.7%. In variant II, the temperature of the inside of the cup and of the surface of the skin were similar and amounted to 42.2 °C and 43.9 °C respectively. It means that right after applying the cup, the body temperature in the place of its application increased by 7.3°C, i.e. by 19.8% in relation to the normal body temperature. Conclusions: The experiment that was carried out allows us to claim that the applied vacuum therapy affects the tissues by two factors: vacuum pressure and heat, and that is why the hot cup should be considered more effective in the therapy than the cold cup.