Context: A new continuous diathermy called ReBound recently has been introduced. Its effectiveness as a heating modality is unknown.Objective: To compare the effects of the ReBound diathermy with an established deep-heating diathermy, the Megapulse II pulsed shortwave diathermy, on tissue temperature in the human triceps surae muscle.Design: Crossover study. Setting: University research laboratory.Patients or Other Participants: Participants included 12 healthy, college-aged volunteers (4 men, 8 women; age ¼ 22.2 6 2.25 years, calf subcutaneous fat thickness ¼ 7.2 6 1.9 mm).Intervention(s): Each modality treatment was applied to the triceps surae muscle group of each participant for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, we removed the modality and recorded temperature decay for 20 minutes.Main Outcome Measure(s): We horizontally inserted an implantable thermocouple into the medial triceps surae muscle to measure intramuscular tissue temperature at 3 cm deep. We measured temperature every 5 minutes during the 30-minute treatment and each minute during the 20-minute temperature decay.Results: Tissue temperature at a depth of 3 cm increased more with Megapulse II than with ReBound diathermy over the course of the treatment (F 6,66 ¼ 10.78, P , .001). ReBound diathermy did not produce as much intramuscular heating, leading to a slower heat dissipation rate than the Megapulse II (F 20,220 ¼ 28.84, P , .001).Conclusions: During a 30-minute treatment, the Megapulse II was more effective than ReBound diathermy at increasing deep, intramuscular tissue temperature of the triceps surae muscle group.Key Words: continuous diathermy, intramuscular temperature, heat Key PointsThe Megapulse II pulsed shortwave diathermy was a better device than the continuous ReBound diathermy for deep heating. Given its lower power output, ReBound diathermy can be used as a moderate heating modality. Further research should be performed to understand the heating distribution of ReBound diathermy throughout its sleeve.

Context: The effectiveness of a new continuous diathermy unit, ReBound, as a heating modality is unknown.Objective: To compare the effects of ReBound diathermy with silicate-gel moist hot packs on tissue temperature in the human triceps surae muscle.Design: Crossover study. Setting: University research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 12 healthy, college-aged volunteers (4 men, 8 women; age ¼ 22.2 6 2.25 years, calf subcutaneous fat thickness ¼ 7.2 6 1.9 mm).Intervention(s): On 2 different days, 1 of 2 modalities (ReBound diathermy, silicate-gel moist hot pack) was applied to the triceps surae muscle of each participant for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the modality was removed, and temperature decay was recorded for 20 minutes.Main Outcome Measure(s): Medial triceps surae intramuscular tissue temperature at a depth of 1 cm was measured using an implantable thermocouple inserted horizontally into the muscle. Measurements were taken every 5 minutes during the 30-minute treatment and every minute during the 20-minute temperature decay, for a total of 50 minutes. Treatment was analyzed through a 2 3 7 mixed-model analysis of variance with repeated measures. Temperature decay was analyzed through a 2 3 21 mixed-model analysis of variance with repeated measures.Results: During the 30-minute application, tissue temperatures at a depth of 1 cm increased more with the ReBound diathermy than with the moist hot pack (F 6,66 ¼ 7.14, P , .001). ReBound diathermy and moist hot packs increased tissue temperatures 3.698C 6 1.508C and 2.828C 6 0.908C, respectively, from baseline. Throughout the temperature decay, ReBound diathermy produced a greater rate of heat dissipation than the moist hot pack (F 20,222 ¼ 4.42, P , .001).Conclusions: During a 30-minute treatment at a superficial depth, the ReBound diathermy increased tissue temperature to moderate levels, which were greater than the levels reached with moist hot packs.