Do thermal agents affect range of movement and mechanical properties in soft tissues? A systematic review

Bleakley CM, Costello JT · Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Found evidence that heat increases joint range of motion; effects on passive stiffness and other mechanical properties were equivocal, and risk of bias was rated high across all included studies.

Population

36 studies of thermal interventions in 1,301 healthy participants

Intervention

Heat or cold applications, alone or with stretching

Limitations

Healthy participants and mostly local heating, not joint-disease populations or whole-body sauna; high risk of bias throughout; no meta-analysis possible due to heterogeneity.