Ultrasounds

This is different from a diagnostic ultrasound, which is used during pregnancy. Instead, therapeutic ultrasound provides relieving deep heating to tendons, joints, ligaments, muscles, and other soft tissues in the body. The heat increases circulation to the tissues being treated, which is believed to provide healing benefits. The heat generated with the treatment is also effective for alleviating pain, improving joint mobility, and increasing the speed of the recovery process. It can also be set in such a way to decrease inflammation.

There are two things that are achieved with a therapeutic ultrasound in physical therapy. First, the deep-heating effects include relaxing the tightness in tendons, muscles, ligaments, and joint capsules. The treatment is often used on patients suffering from shoulder pain who have a diagnosis of frozen shoulder, because it’s possible that the shoulder may experience an improvement in range of motion.

A second healing effect of therapeutic ultrasound is non-thermal in nature. The treatment introduces energy into the body, which creates a process called cavitation, in which tissues rapidly expand and contract. The theory behind the process is that cellular processes that improve healing of injured tissue can be accelerated.

Therapeutic ultrasound is applied with a machine. First, gel is applied to the body part to be treated. Then the sound head or ultrasound transducer is placed against the skin and slowly moved in a circular motion on the body. The physical therapist is able to control the intensity or level of penetration of the waves of the ultrasound. The type of healing needed determines the settings used.