Therapeutic Ultrasound
What Is Therapeutic Ultrasound?
Therapeutic ultrasound is used to heat tissues and introduce energy into the body.
Therapeutic ultrasound is a treatment that is commonly used in physical therapy to provide deep heating to soft tissues in the body. These tissues include muscles, tendons, joints, and ligaments.
Ultrasound in physical therapy is different than diagnostic ultrasound. With the latter, healthcare providers use ultrasound to see the inside of the body. For example, diagnostic ultrasound lets healthcare providers check on a fetus during pregnancy.
Deep Heating Effects
Ultrasound can provide deep heating to soft tissue structures in the body. Deep heating tendons, muscles, or ligaments. There are many benefits to this treatment such as:
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Increase circulation to tissues
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Speed the healing process
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Increase elasticity
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Reduce pain
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Reduce inflammation
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Increase blood flow
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Improve healing time
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Release muscle tension
How does ultrasound work?
Inside the ultrasound unit is a small crystal. When an electrical charge hits this crystal, it vibrates rapidly, creating 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 many benefits.
