If you are searching for all details you can get about the Ultrasound method, you are definitely on the right track! It is a well-known fact that Ultrasound has been used by physical therapists for a long time, since about 1940s, but what is amazing is how it managed to improve year by year due to scientific progress. You are probably wondering what actually the Ultrasound modality consists of. Well, Ultrasound is applied using a round-headed wand or probe that is put in direct contact with the skin of the patient. The frequency of the therapeutic Ultrasound is between 0.8-1.0 MHz. To assist in the transmission of the ultrasonic waves, therapists use the Ultrasound gel, which can be used on all surfaces of the head to reduce friction. You will find all about the Ultrasound and how it works in the following lines. The vibration of the crystals within the head of the wand or probe generates a piezoelectric effect, which makes those ultrasonic waves to transmit. They are passed through the skin, thus producing a vibration of the local tissues. You do have to acknowledge the fact that this vibration causes a profound heating, although the patient will not feel any sensation at all of this local heat, so there's nothing to worry about. In cases like fresh injuries with acute inflammation there will not be a heating effect, so, instead of being permanently transmitted, the Ultrasound will be pulsed. But, as all therapeutic modalities, the Ultrasound can produce many other effects than just the potential heating effect, such as local blood flow, scar tissue breakdown and increases in tissue relaxation. It has been shown that the effect of the increase in local blood flow can help reduce local swelling and chronic inflammation, and promote bone fracture healing. Another interesting fact is that power density of the Ultrasound measures in watt/cm2, and, the greater the density is, the better you can use it for more goals, such as scar tissue breakdown. For sensitive patients who aren't so comfortable with injections, the Ultrasound technique can also be used to achieve phonophoresis. That means that the medications are administrated to tissues below the skin. Thus, the ultrasonic energy forces the medication through the skin, and one of the most commonly used substances delivered in this way is Cortisone, also used for reducing inflammation. The Ultrasound treatment is so easy and fast! It will take you only 5 minutes maximum for a typical one, but if scar tissue breakdown is the goal, the Ultrasound treatment can take much longer. On one hand, if the head of the Ultrasound probe is kept in constant motion during the treatment, the patient should feel very comfortable, but, on the other hand, if kept in one place for more than a few seconds, a build up of the sound energy can result, and it could cause slight discomfort to him/she. The Ultrasound method is also very useful in cases of minor fractures that aren't obvious on x-rays. Thus, even a very minor break in a bone in the area that is close to the surface could cause the patient to feel a sharp pain, so there is only to win with the Ultrasound technique. Here are just a few conditions which can be treated with Ultrasound: tendonitis, non-acute joint swelling, muscle spasm, and even Peyronie's Disease (to break down the scar tissue). But, do not forget the contraindications of Ultrasound, which include local malignancy, metal implants below the treated area, local acute infection, vascular abnormalities, and directly on the abdomen of pregnant women, or over the skull, eyes or the spinal cord in the area of a laminectomy.
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