According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 million U.S. adults suffer from chronic pain, and a further 19.6 million U.S. adults suffer from high-impact chronic pain.
Experiencing pain and inflammation problems can cause a person to experience unpleasant physical pain, but they can also experience mental pain too, such as depression and anxiety. Luckily, there are several ways to reduce pain and treat inflammation, one such way is by using ultrasound therapy.
Keep reading to learn more about ultrasound therapy, find out what the benefits of ultrasound therapy are, and see if this treatment is right for you.
What Is Ultrasound Therapy?
Ultrasound therapy is given to those who suffer from soft tissue pain and inflammation. The therapy is often given to those who suffer from pain associated with musculoskeletal disorders or chronic pain. Ultrasound therapy helps to relieve pain and can also help to promote tissues to heal.
You might be advised to have chiropractic ultrasound therapy if you have:
- carpal tunnel syndrome
- osteoarthritis
- pain caused by scar tissue
- shoulder pain
- sprains and strains
- ligament injuries
- or joint stiffness.
When people hear the word ultrasound, they think about the tool used to look at a pregnant women’s womb. The tool used for ultrasound therapy is similar to this device, but don’t pull up images of your body.
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Instead, ultrasound therapy is used to apply gel or cream onto the area that is causing you pain. The ultrasound probe vibrates as it touches your skin and sends waves through your skin and into your body. The waves from the ultrasound make your tissues vibrate which can help reduce pain and have several other benefits.
What Are the Benefits of Ultrasound Therapy?
Ultrasound therapy may sound technical but it’s quite a simple and quick procedure. Those who have ultrasound therapy can expect short sessions that last around 5 minutes. And within those 5 minutes and after several ultrasound therapy sessions, you’ll find these incredible 5 benefits:
1. Experience Pain Relief
The main benefit of ultrasound therapy is the pain relief it can provide. Pain-relieving ultrasound therapy can help to heal your body’s deep tissue and also decrease muscle spasms. Muscle tightness and spasms are common for those with chronic pain or injury-related pains, but ultrasound therapy can reduce this pain.
Reducing muscle spasms and tightness isn’t the only way ultrasound therapy can help to reduce your pain though. Ultrasound therapy is often used in conjunction with other treatments and is a great way to prepare your muscles for the other treatments. Your physical therapist may start off your recovery with ultrasound therapy and then go on to strengthening activities and ask you to do some stretches.
2. Enjoy Deeper Heat
During an ultrasound therapy session, the probe will cause your tissues to vibrate, which in turn allows the targeted tissue to warm up. This effect is similar to applying a deep heat pack to your pained area and allows the muscles and joints to relax. However, ultrasound therapy is much more effective than a deep heat pack and will last for longer.
Ultrasound probes come with different frequency settings too, which allows your chiropractor to really target the source of your pain and apply the heat where it is needed.
3. Stretch With Ease
A big part of recovering from or managing chronic pain is working the muscles and joints. However, if the pain is excruciating, you’re less likely to want to stretch and work the muscle or joint. That’s where ultrasound therapy can help.
Due to the vibrations and heat of ultrasound therapy, your muscles and joints are more relaxed, which means you’re less likely to experience muscle tension and spasms. Ultrasound therapy can also help to increase your range of motions, which may mean you find the strengthening and stretches part of your treatment easier to do.
4. Promote Better Tissue Healing
Another benefit of ultrasound therapy is that it can help to promote tissue healing, especially within your deeper tissues. During your therapy, your tissues will become more responsive to healing fluids, which will help to increase your blood flow. Increased blood flow can help to reduce swelling and inflammation, which is why this therapy is effective for both arthritis and sprains.
Chiropractors treating injuries such as acute inflammation may choose to set the ultrasound probe onto a pulsing setting. This will help to get your blood pumping faster and help to reduce your swelling pain.
5. Reduce Tissue From Scarring
Ultrasound therapy can also help to reduce your tissues from scarring. Ultrasound waves allow soft tissue cells to vibrate which helps to help to reduce your tissues from scarring.
Just 5-minute ultrasound sessions can help to breakdown scar tissue, which in turn will enable your range of motions to increase and for you to experience more relief for longer.
Is Ultrasound Therapy Right for You?
Ultrasound therapy is a great way of starting your recovery and feeling like your usual self. Those who suffer from chronic pain or who have recently had surgery may benefit most from ultrasound therapy. However, you should always ask your doctor first or seek the help of a medical professional before starting ultrasound therapy.
Try Ultrasound Therapy Now
As you can see there are many benefits of ultrasound therapy for those who suffer from chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders. If you think that ultrasound therapy might be able to help you and your condition, then you should speak to your doctor or arrange an appointment to see a chiropractor.
Discover our other health articles to find out how you can relieve pain and inflammation.
