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Application of heat to muscle is commonly advocated to enhance the efficacy of stretching. However, the effect of this combined therapy using different methods of heating, applied to different muscles, and after one or multiple treatments, is not known. To perform a systematic review to address the question: Does stretching augmented by heat application result in greater gains in range of motion (ROM) compared to stretch alone?The following databases were searched for original articles that evaluated our question: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, SPORTDiscus and PEDro databases. After title and abstract screening followed by full-text screening, the quality of included articles was assessed and their data was abstracted. Screening, data abstraction and quality assessment was performed and consensus was achieved by two reviewers. Range of motion (ROM) data were synthesized by meta-analyses for overall effect and subgroup analysis according to muscle group, method of heat application, single or multiple treatments, and reported tightness of muscle. Twelve studies were included and reported the effects of stretch with or without heat on ROM of 352 participants. Heat applications included ultrasound, shortwave diathermy and hot packs. Meta-analyses and subgroup analyses demonstrated greater increases in ROM after heat and stretch (H + S) than heat alone. Subgroup analysis of muscle groups and the method of heat application showed some trends, but no significant differences. Multiple treatments (more so than single treatments) showed consistent treatment effects of H + S versus stretch alone amongst subgroups. Muscles described as tight did not show a greater treatment effect in response to H + S compared to muscles not reported as tight. Heating provides an added benefit on stretch related gains of ROM in healthy people., Physical Therapy in Sport, 13(3), pp.180-188; 2012

W Darlene Reid,1,2 Cristiane Yamabayashi,1 Donna Goodridge,3 Frank Chung,4 Michael A Hunt,1 Darcy D Marciniuk,5 Dina Brooks,6 Yi-Wen Chen,1 Alison M Hoens,1,7 Pat G Camp1,21Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 2Institute of Heart and Lung Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 3College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, 4Physiotherapy, Burnaby Hospital, Fraser Health, British Columbia, 5Division of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 6Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, 7Providence Health Care, Vancouver, BC, CanadaIntroduction: The prescription of physical activity for hospitalized patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) can be complicated by the presence of comorbidities. The current research aimed to synthesize the relevant literature on the benefits of exercise for people with multimorbidities who experience an AECOPD, and ask: What are the parameters and outcomes of exercise in AECOPD and in conditions that are common comorbidities as reported by systematic reviews (SRs)?Methods: An SR was performed using the Cochrane Collaboration protocol. Nine electronic databases were searched up to July 2011. Articles were included if they (1) described participants with AECOPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or one of eleven common comorbidities, (2) were an SR, (3) examined aerobic training (AT), resistance training (RT), balance training (BT), or a combination thereof, (4) included at least one outcome of fitness, and (5) compared exercise training versus control/sham.Results: This synthesis examined 58 SRs of exercise training in people with AECOPD, COPD, or eleven chronic conditions commonly associated with COPD. Meta-analyses of endurance (aerobic or exercise capacity, 6-minute walk distance – 6MWD) were shown to significantly improve in most