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A long used, well
established, therapy in the treatment of injuries is
ultrasound. It is really no more than a high pitch
sound wave but at a much, much higher pitch (1,000,000
Hz) than people could ever hear. People often confuse
the ultrasound treatment we use to for injuries with
the type of ultrasound used to make picture of babies
in the womb. That is ultrasound diagnosis, a much
lower frequency sound wave that bounces back from
structures in the body to a computer that makes images
from the beneficial effects for the treatment of the
musculo-skeletal conditions we chiropractors see.
All sound is, of course, a vibration. As a high
pitched vibration goes through soft tissues the
molecules in the soft tissue in turn vibrate -
bouncing off each other creating friction heat. Like
the therapy
shortwave diathermy, ultrasound unites do not give
off heat. The heat is generated inside the body as the
sound wave goes through it. Also, like shortwave
diathermy, ultrasound is classified as deep heat. It
treats much deeper into the body than most other types
of heat like heating pads or moist heat packs, making
ultrasound an excellent choice for treating injuries
of the back and joints like the hip and shoulder.
Some beneficial effects
of ultrasound therapy include:
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>reducing muscle spasms
by heat and "micro massage" effect |
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>stimulates healing by
speeding up metabolism to decrease recovery time |
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>reduces nerve root
irritation |
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>breaks down and
disperses calcium deposits |
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