Therapeutic Ultrasound massage in Physical Therapy £35 for 3o minutes
“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” —Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Ultrasound therapy is the use of sound waves (vibrations) to treat medical problems. It is commonly used to treat low back pain. A healthcare provider or Physiotherapist rubs a hand-held machine against the skin on the lower back. The machine produces vibrations that go through the skin. The aim is to deliver heat and energy to body parts under the skin, to reduce pain and speed up recovery. It's used to detect and treat various musculoskeletal issues you may have including pain, tissue injury, and muscle spasms. The ultrasound machine works by sending an electric current through crystals found in the ultrasound probe — also known as the ultrasound wand. The probe vibrates, causing waves to travel through the skin to the body underneath. The waves transfer energy to the tissues to cause the desired effects. Ultrasound can also be focused on tissues deep within your body without affecting other tissues close to the surface. Therapeutic ultrasound is a treatment commonly used in physical therapy to provide deep heating to soft tissues in the body. These tissues include muscles, tendons, joints, and ligaments.
What Is Therapeutic Ultrasound?
Therapeutic ultrasound is used to heat tissues and introduce energy into the body.
Deep Heating Effects
Ultrasound can provide deep heating to soft tissue structures in the body. Deep heating tendons, muscles, or ligaments could have the following benefits:
Increase circulation to tissues
Speed the healing process
Decrease pain
Increase elasticity
If you have shoulder pain and have been diagnosed with a frozen shoulder, your physical therapist (PT) may use ultrasound. This therapy is usually done before performing range of motion exercises because it can help improve the ability of your shoulder to stretch.
Non-Thermal Effects (Cavitation)
In addition to heat, ultrasound introduces energy into the body. This energy causes microscopic gas bubbles around your tissues to expand and contract rapidly, a process called cavitation. It is theorized that the expansion and contraction of these bubbles help speed cellular processes and help injured tissue heal faster.
How Does Ultrasound Work?
Inside your physical therapist's ultrasound unit is a small crystal. When an electrical charge hits this crystal, it vibrates rapidly, creating piezoelectric waves (an electric charge that accumulates in some solid materials). These waves emit from the ultrasound sound head as ultrasound waves.
During treatment, the ultrasound wave then enters into your injured tissues. This exposure to ultrasonic waves increases blood flow and cavitation, leading to the theorized benefits of the treatment.
When Is It Used?
PTs may use therapeutic ultrasound to treat some injuries and chronic pain.
Injuries
Usually, PTs treat orthopedic (musculoskeletal) injuries with ultrasound. These may include:
Bursitis (inflammation in the fluid-filled sacs along joints)
Muscle strains and tears
Sprains and ligament injuries
Joint contracture or tightness
Generally speaking, any soft-tissue injury in the body may be a candidate for ultrasound therapy. For example, your physical therapist may use ultrasound for low back pain, neck pain, rotator cuff tears, knee meniscus tears, or ankle sprains.
What to Expect
Ultrasound uses a machine that has an ultrasound transducer (sound head). First, a PT applies a small amount of gel to the particular body part; then, your physical therapist slowly moves the sound head in a small circular direction on your body.
What Ultrasound Feels Like
While receiving an ultrasound treatment, you will most likely not feel anything happening, except perhaps a slight warming sensation or tingling around the treatment area.
Contraindications
There are some instances where you should not use ultrasound at all. These contraindications to ultrasound may include:789
National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. Ultrasound therapy.
Over open wounds
Over metastatic lesions (cancer that has spread) or any active areas of cancer
Over areas of decreased sensation
Over parts of the body with metal implants, like in a total knee replacement or lumbar fusion
Near or over a pacemaker
Around the eyes, breasts, or sexual organs
Over fractured bones
Near or over an implanted electrical stimulation device
Near overactive growth plates in children
Over an area of acute infection