The history of the heat gun in physiotherapy relates specifically to its use with thermoplastics and splinting. The purpose of splinting is to immobilise, and throughout history a range of products have been used, including wood, bamboo, cane, steel, aluminium, leather and plaster of Paris,
The use of plastics for splinting began in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In 1941, Marble described a new plastic material, Thermex, that could be heated and formed and reheated, noting that “the surgeon should select the material best suiting the need”. The plastics of this time required high temperatures to soften them. So protective cloth layers were interposed between the skin and the splint, and the therapist had a narrow window of time to mould the material around the body part. Too hot and it risked burning the patient’s skin; too cold and the plastic hardened before the best shape could be achieved.
Although low-temperature thermoplastic materials were enthusiastically welcomed in the mid to late 1960s, they had a rocky start being slow to harden and vulnerable to collapsing with increased body warmth. Further technical advances lowered the temperature range required for malleability and raised the temperature for rigidity.
Where initially ovens and electric frying pans were used for heating thermoplastics, the heat gun became a more useful tool to apply local, short term heat.
It is interesting to note the advancements in splinting technology were not the consequences of focused splinting-material-specific research but rather were by-products of the rapid developments in military and aerospace technology that were adopted by crafty therapists.
Description provided by Glenn Ruscoe of Australia.
References:
Fess, E. 2002. A History of splinting: To understand the present, view the past. Journal of Hand Therapy, 15(2), 97–132.
