Did you know that sound waves have the potential to help heal an injury? This is exactly what ultrasound does. Ultrasound is a type of therapeutic modality that uses acoustical energy, or sound waves, to produce changes in tissue through different mechanisms. Ultrasound is produced by an alternating current flowing through a piezoelectric crystal head housed in a transducer.1 There are two different types of ultrasound that you should be aware of and that is thermal and non-thermal.
Non-thermal (without heat), also known as pulsed ultrasound, can provide a change to the tissue which results from a mechanical effect of ultrasonic energy. Mechanical sound waves can then produce cellular vibration or friction along with acoustical streaming and cavitation. This means that pulsed ultrasound can promote circulation independently of a heating effect.2 With these mechanical changes, non-thermal ultrasound is able to provide several positive effects for an injury. One of the key reasons to use non-thermal ultrasound is for tissue healing. By using this type of ultrasound, the body can release free flowing ions, destruct fibrin clots, perform angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels), increase blood flow and enhance nutrient delivery. All of these factors will ultimately lead to improved tissue healing which can help decrease the patient’s pain.Knowing the effects that pulsed ultrasound can produce, it would be appropriate to use it with an acute injury or when tissue heating is undesirable.
Thermal (heat) ultrasound, often times called continuous ultrasound, allows changes within the tissue as a direct result of ultrasound’s elevation of the tissue temperature.1 Thermal ultrasound can be used to reduce muscle spasms, reduce chronic inflammation, help break down scar tissue adhesions, inhibit sympathetic activity. It also provides a deep heat which helps with tissue elongation. Continuous ultrasound would best be used for a chronic injury or with a patient who has scar tissue buildup that is prohibiting them from moving as normal as possible.
Although there are many good reasons to use ultrasound, there are several contraindications when it comes to this particular modality. You should not use continuous ultrasound for acute conditions, around areas of impaired circulation, or over anesthetic areas. Contraindications for both thermal and non-thermal ultrasound include cancerous tumors, infection sites, metal implants, and pacemakers. Ultrasound can be an extremely effective modality if used in the proper setting.
1Starkey, C. (2013). Therapeutic modalities (4th ed.). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.
2A Review of Therapeutic Ultrasound: Biophysical Effects. Retrieved October 13, 2016, from http://ptjournal.apta.org/content/81/7/1351.full
@. (n.d.). Therapeutic Ultrasound: Does it Work? Retrieved October 30, 2016, from https://www.painscience.com/articles/ultrasound.php
Ultrasound therapy. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2016, from https://www.btlnet.com/products-physiotherapy-ultrasound-therapy
Even though I do not use ultrasound much, I would say that its benefits are definitely apparent in the right situation. Very informative blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog. It is very informative and well written. I did not know that ultrasound could be used to heal injuries and improve numerous other health issues.
ReplyDelete