PHYSIOTHERAPY MODALITIES

As part of your therapy at Complete Spine and Wellness, we often use certain modalities such as ultrasound and electrical muscle stimulation along with the massage and chiropractic care to aid in the healing process of your injury.

Therapeutic Ultrasound

Most patients are familiar with diagnostic ultrasonography or "ultrasound" which is used to discern problems deep in the body without breaking the surface of the skin, by bouncing and measuring high frequency sound waves to create audio "images". Less common is the awareness of this remarkable technology as a therapeutic tool.

Therapeutic Ultrasound is one of the most common electrophysical modalities used by physicians in today's technologically advanced nations, and has been for several decades. Its effectiveness has been enhanced over the years by studies which helped determine optimum techniques and patterns of application, and a wide range of injuries have shown to be responsive to this popular, non‐invasive therapy.

A deep tissue heating modality reaching underlying tissues as deep as 1 to 5 centimeters, it is used to treat musculoskeletal injuries, back and joint conditions, limited range of motion, soft tissue injuries, and chronic conditions.

Ultrasound treatment is used to:

• relieve pain and inflammation
• speed healing
• reduce muscle spasms and
• increase range of motion

Treatment is administered directly which penetrates the tissues, increases blood flow, relaxes muscle spasms, repairs damaged tissue, and dramatically speeds the healing process. It creates permanent, physical changes and repairs both hard and soft tissues problems.

For soft tissue healing, ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves, well beyond the range of human hearing, which cause molecules in the tissues to vibrate, producing heat and mechanical energy.

Ultrasound therapy can be applied directly to the skin or through a water medium. When applied directly, it must be performed using a coupling gel. Ultrasound can also be done in a tub of water or through gel packs. Ultrasound therapy has become the most commonly used deep therapeutic heat modality in sports medicine, valuable for the rehabilitation of many different injuries because it stimulates the repair of soft tissue injuries and also relieves pain.

Electrical Stimulation

When dealing with acute, subacute and chronic pain, electrical stimulation is not the first solution that comes to mind for many sufferers. Instead, it is very common for people to ignore reoccurring back, neck, and joint discomfort for years and temporarily alleviate symptoms with analgesic medications without seeing a chiropractor.

Studies of analgesic medications reveal that these drugs do lessen the pain but they do not treat the source of the problem. Over time as the body develops a tolerance to painkillers, higher doses are required for relief. This means more physical dependence on medication, more side effects, and more toxins that the body has to combat as it tries to heal itself.

There are many different types of electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) used in rehabilitation. It is used to reduce muscle spasms, reduce pain and swelling, strengthens muscle tone, increases cellular metabolism to speed up the healing process and strengthen muscles. Electric muscle stimulation mimics the body's nervous system by sending safe, low frequency electrical pulses to the affected area, causing the muscle to contract and increasing temperature and blood circulation. The same natural process of the body to repair injuries works with EMS to relieve other common nervous system disorders, including constant headaches, numbness of limbs, and back pain. By utilizing and encouraging the body's natural healing mechanisms, EMS and similar therapies can drastically reduce the dependence on medications and unnecessary surgeries and resolve the symptoms of underlying causes much quicker. Electrical muscle stimulation is used to:

• Decreased inflammation
• Prevent pain (TENS)
• Prevention or retardation of disuse atrophy;
• Increasing local blood circulation;
• Muscle re‐education;
• Immediate post‐surgical stimulation of calf muscles to prevent venous thrombosis;
• Maintaining or increasing range of motion