The Effect of Cold Air Application on Intra-Articular and Skin Temperatures in the Knee

The present study was performed to investigate the effect on the skin and the intra-articular structures of 5-minutes of cold air application. During and after 5 minutes of cold air application on 20 healthy subjects, the skin and intra-articular temperatures were measured by means of an infrared thermogram and a digital k-wire probe, respectively. The results showed that 1) Skin temperature dropped very rapidly by a total of 22.1 degrees C after 5 minutes of cold air application. 2) Intra-articular temperature dropped by 3.9 degrees C after 5 minutes of cold air application. 3) Two hours after the start of treatment with cold air, intra-articular temperatures had still not returned to their baseline values (p 0.05).

The Effect of Cold Air Application for the Intraarticular and Skin Temperature Changes of Knees

The purposes of this study are to investigate the effect of the cold air application in the skin and intraarticular temperature changes and to observe the rebound temperature changes after cooling. We recorded the changes of the skin surface and intraarticular temperatures of knees during and after the cold air application. The intraarticular temperature was measured by a temperature probe inserted into the knee joint cavity and the skin temperature by the infrared system. Eighteen healthy subjects were examined. The knee was cooled by a 5-minutes application of CRAis (Kyung-won Century, Korea) machine and the intraarticular and skin temperatures of knees were measured at every 0.5-minute during and after the cold therpy, then at every minute for 5 minutes, and every 5-minute for the next 110 minutes. We also evaluated the variables that might affect the skin and intraarticular temperature changes. Results showed that the mean skin temperature dropped from 31.8oC to 10.5oC immediately after the cold air application for 5-minutes. The mean intraarticular temperature dropped from 33.9oC to 30.0oC after the cold air application for 5-minutes. Two hours after the initiation of treatment with cold air, the mean intraarticular temperatures did not recover to the baseline values(p<0.01). No significant correlations were found between the body mass index with the intraarticular and surface temperatures of knees. A highly significant correlation was noted between the baseline skin surface and intraarticular temperatures(p<0.01). In conclusion, the reduction of the joint temperature by the cold air application using CRAis machine can be a useful treatment method for the synovitis of knees.

The Effect of Neck Posture in Swallowing of Stroke Patients

Dysphagia is a disorder of the swallowing mechanism and presents a major problem in the rehabilitation of stroke patients. In-the present study, computerized laryngeal analyzer (CLA) was used for noninvasive assessment of the pharyngeal phase of the swallowing mechanism. Laryngeal elevation was measured with pressor sensor placed on the skin over the thyroid cartilage. In the study. CLA was applied at each posture of neck flexion, neutral, and extension in stroke group and control group. Significant differences were found in each of the these parameters measured in control group and stroke group. The quantitative measurements may aid the physician in choosing the appropriate therapy during the course of recovery. The onset latency of swallowing was delayed in stroke group than control group at all posture of neck(p0.05). The amplitude of swallowing was decreased in stroke group at extension and neutral posture of neck compared to those of control group (p0.05).