How far below the skin must heat penetrate to effectively reach deep muscle spasms?
- A) Only the top dermal layer (Epidermis)
- B) 0.5 inches
- C) At least 2 centimeters (approx. 0.8 inches)
- D) Heat only affects the nerves, not the muscle.
To treat deep muscle spasms effectively, heat must penetrate beyond the surface-level skin and fat layers.
Reaching the Tissue: Most "deep" muscle tissue begins at a depth of about 2 centimeters.
The Goal: At this depth, the heat increases blood flow and relaxes the muscle fibers directly.
Method: This usually requires deep heat (like long-duration heat wraps or ultrasound) rather than superficial heat, which often only warms the skin and the first few millimeters of tissue.
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