Deep heat in the treatment of inflammatory joint disease.

There is now a growing body of clinical evidence suggesting a therapeutic approach to cancer and prostatic hypertrophy by using hyperthermia. It is proposed that such a hyperthermic modality can produce thermal synovectomy in inflammatory arthritis. Heating the joint cavity up to 42 deg C can inhibit the enzymatic effect of collagenase, oxygenase, and other enzymes playing a role in the inflammatory process. If this hypothesis is correct, therapeutic intervention using hyperthermia may offer hope for the treatment of isolated inflammatory joint diseases.