Use of Infared Thermography in Hydrotherapy: Effect of Priessnitz Procedures on Changes in Skin Temperatures

Overview

Infared thermography was used to measure the time course of skin temperature changes in subjects immersed singly or repeatedly into the cold water (14 C) up to the knees. The cooling induced a small, but sustained activation of the sympathetic nervous systém, which manifested as a temporal decrease in skin temperature, indicating vasoconstriction. After the initial vasoconstriction subsequent cycles of transient vasodilation occured in most skin areas. The skin bood flow on the head and neck proved to be an exception, since in this areas theskin blood flow was maintained increased permanently. Data indicate thar the action of the sympathetic nervous system on skin blood flow during local cooling is not a generalized phenomenon, but differs in different areas of the body.

Repeated coolings of lower exremities induce a less marked hypothermia in the skin of central areas of the body and greater peripheral hypothermia in hands. The observed changes persisted at least one month after the end of the adaptation procedure. Results indicate that the repeated Priessnitz procedures can induce adaptation, which manifests as decrease in the sympathetic tone in most of the skin blood vessels.

Key words:
infrared thermography, Priessnitz procedures, skin temperatures