Ultrasound therapy is the use of sound waves to treat medical problems, and in particular, those conditions that affect the musculoskeletal system. It is a technique that is increasingly being offered by chiropractors who realize the benefits that it can offer patients. 

What Is Ultrasound Therapy And How Does It Work?

Ultrasound therapy is an innovative new treatment that is completely non-invasive and drug-free, making it a popular choice among patients who are looking for a more natural way to alleviate the symptoms that they are experiencing. 

Most people know of ultrasound as a way to diagnose and monitor pregnancy. However, it has many other applications including healing and regeneration. Ultrasound therapy in chiropractic care is used to stimulate blood flow, which in turn helps to decrease inflammation, increase tissue relaxation, and break down any internal scar tissue so that patients can enjoy greater mobility. This process also speeds up the rate of healing of any musculoskeletal injuries that the patient may have and may even promote bone fracture healing. One of the main ways in which ultrasound therapy helps is that it helps to reduce the patient’s discomfort in a completely natural way. This is done through the increased blood flow which stimulates the release of endorphins, whilst the reduction in inflammation also helps to counteract pain. 

Ultrasound therapy is carried out in much the same way as you would expect it to be used on an expectant mother. Once you are comfortable, your chiropractor will apply a special conductive gel to the handheld device which will then be placed onto the target area. This gel helps the soundwaves to be conducted more effectively. As they pass into the skin, the waves will cause vibrations and you may experience some slight warmth and tingling, but this shouldn’t be painful. As the sound waves hit the deeper tissues of your body, they stimulate cell membranes which creates the therapeutic response. 

Interferential electrical muscle stimulation

Types of Electrical Stimulation

Electrical stimulation research will lead you to discover a lot of names, abbreviations, and acronyms, including:

1. Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS)
2. Russian electrical stimulation
3. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)
4. Functional electrical stimulation (FES)
5. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
6. and many more…

All of these names refer to the same basic thing. Namely, applying electricity to the body to increase or decrease activity in the nervous system. The different names come from applying the current in different ways, to different parts of the body, or for different reasons. Part of the problem that Gad Alon referred to is the fact that people will say they use a particular kind of electrical stimulation, like Russian electrical stimulation, without ever explaining what it really means.

Generally speaking, the different names reflect either the intended use of the electrical stimulation or the characteristics of the stimulation itself. For example, EMS and Russian electrical stimulation are both generally intended for athletic training, but Russian stimulation uses high-frequency sinusoidal waveforms, whereas EMS typically uses lower-frequency rectangular waveforms. As another example, TENS units are typically used for pain relief, while NMES units are used to retrain muscles after an injury, even though both TENS and NMES use similar stimulation waveforms.

Instead of trying to solve the problem of the name game, this post provides a brief explanation of the most common types of electrical stimulation and how they are used in therapy. Hopefully, this information will help you avoid the pitfalls of the name game and choose the right therapeutic modality for your purposes.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

• Intended for temporary pain relief in sore and aching muscles or for symptomatic relief of chronic pain.
• Most pervasive type of electrical stimulation. For example, a search for “TENS units” on Amazon.com brings up over 60,000 results.
• Typically limited in functionality, but cheap as a result.

Interferential current (IFC) electrical stimulation

• Intended for symptomatic relief of acute, chronic, and post-traumatic or post-surgical pain.
• Similar to TENS, but generally more effective and powerful
• Much less common than TENS, but more functional and more expensive

Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS)

• Intended for strengthening muscles, increasing muscle size, improving muscular endurance, and accelerating muscle recovery.
• Also similar to TENS, but designed to make the muscles contract strongly.
• Typically used by athletes, especially for muscle recovery

Russian stimulation

• Intended for strengthening muscles, increasing muscle size, improving muscular endurance, and accelerating muscle recovery.
• Similar to EMS, but uses high frequency, sinusoidal stimulation waveforms.
• Popularized in the 1970s when Russian researchers used EMS to enhance the training of Olympic athletes.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)

• Intended for relaxing muscle spasms, preventing muscle atrophy, increasing blood circulation, maintaining or increasing range of motion, and especially for re-educating the neuromuscular system.
• Essentially the same as EMS, but typically focused on therapeutic use (rehab) instead of athletic use (training)

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)

• Intended for relaxing muscle spasms, preventing muscle atrophy, increasing blood circulation, maintaining or increasing range of motion, and especially for re-educating the neuromuscular system.
• Essentially the same as NMES, but they are especially effective for neurological rehabilitation, as the stimulation is automatically controlled to turn muscle contractions into functional movements.
• Usually incorporated into an exercise or bracing device to maximize functionality.

What is Mechanical intersegmental traction?

If you’ve ever been to a chiropractor, there’s a good chance you’ve had intersegmental traction. But what exactly is it?

In short, intersegmental traction is a physical therapy modality that uses a mechanical force to stretch the spine. This stretching action helps reduce pressure on the disks and joints of the spine, which can improve range of motion and relieve pain. 

Intersegmental traction can be performed manually or with the help of a machine on a roller table. A manual traction device consists of a set of rollers that the patient lies on. The rollers are positioned on either side of the spinal column, and the patient moves their body back and forth to create the simultaneously stretching action. A machine-assisted traction device uses a motorized system to apply the stretch.

The Benefits of Intersegmental Traction

Intersegmental traction has a number of potential benefits, including:

• Reduced pressure on disks and joints: One of the main purposes of intersegmental traction is to reduce pressure on the disks and joints of the spine. This can be helpful for those who suffer from degenerative disk disease or other conditions that cause painin these areas. 
• Improved range of motion: Another benefit of intersegmental traction is that it can help improve range of motion in the spine. This is due to the fact that it stretches out muscles and tissues that may have become tight or inflexible. This can also help reduce muscle spasms.
• Relieved pain: Many people who undergo intersegmental traction find that it helps relieve pain in the back, neck and shoulders. This pain relief can be long-lasting, providing lasting relief from chronic pain conditions. 
• Improved circulation: Intersegmental traction can also help improve circulation in the spine and surrounding tissues. This improved blood flow helps deliver nutrients and oxygen to these areas, which can speed up healing time from injuries. 

Is Intersegmental Traction Safe?

Intersegmental traction is a safe and gentle treatment, and it typically does not cause any pain or discomfort. However, some people may experience mild soreness in the area that was treated. This soreness should subside after a few days. 

It’s important to speak with your doctor before undergoing intersegmental traction, especially if you have existing medical conditions or are pregnant. Your doctor can advise whether this treatment is suitable for you and answer any questions you may have.

Overall, intersegmental traction is a safe and effective way to improve spinal health and relieve spinal column pain from chronic conditions. It stretches out tight muscles and tissues in the spinal joints, relieves pain, improves blood flow and helps speed up the healing process.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a safe and effective way to reduce pressure on your disks and joints, relieve pain and improve your range of motion, intersegmental traction may be right for you. This physical therapy modality is suitable for people of all ages and can provide long-lasting relief from chronic pain conditions.

Injury Centers of Brevard offers intersegmental traction to treat a variety of conditions and injuries. Our team of experienced physical therapists can evaluate the cause of your pain and recommend the best course of treatment for your specific needs. Contact us today to learn more about intersegmental traction and other physical therapy services we offer.

Cryotherapy, or cold therapy, cools the body using freezing or near-freezing temperatures to help reduce inflammation. Whole-body cryotherapy is a common form of cryotherapy that involves standing in a freezing, non-medical-grade chamber at a spa or wellness center. Cryotherapy also includes cold-water immersion, ice application, and cryosurgery.¹

Fans of whole-body cryotherapy boast it helps improve muscle recovery, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic pain, anxiety, and weight loss efforts. But despite cryotherapy chambers popping up across the country, there is limited evidence that non-medical cryotherapy offers legitimate health benefits. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also not approved whole-body cryotherapy chambers as a safe or effective way to treat medical conditions or exercise recovery efforts.²

Here’s what to know about cryotherapy’s uses, benefits, and risks.

How Cryotherapy Works

Cryotherapy—with the exception of cryosurgery—is used to reduce pain and swelling from an injury or inflammation. Since inflammation is often the root of many health issues, cryotherapy may help indirectly alleviate inflammation-related conditions. However, this idea is primarily theoretical.

Cryotherapy generally helps reduce inflammation by reducing blood flow to particular areas. When exposed to cold temperatures, your body constricts your blood vessels (aka vasoconstriction). This allows blood to move to your organs and gain more oxygen. When your body starts to warm up and returns to its normal temperature, your blood vessels expand (aka vasodilation). That oxygen-rich blood then moves to your tissues and helps push out inflammation.³

Proponents of whole-body cryotherapy believe cryogenic chambers help kick off the body’s cold temperature response in a similar way. However, there isn’t enough research to prove cryogenic chambers effectively reduce inflammation like other cold therapy treatments.  

Types of Cryotherapy 

When people hear cryotherapy, they often think of freezing chambers, but cryotherapy technically includes multiple cold therapies.

Whole-Body Cryotherapy 

During a whole-body cryotherapy session, you’ll enter a chamber that’s cooled to negative -200 to -300 degrees Fahrenheit (-129 to -184 degrees Celsius) for two to four minutes. These chambers are cooled using liquid nitrogen vapors or cool air that circulates around your body. Typically, your head is outside the chamber, while the rest of your body is exposed to supercooling temperatures. Sometimes multiple people enter a fully-enclosed chamber. Either way, you’ll enter a cryogenic chamber naked or nearly naked, with gloves, socks, or slippers to help protect your extremities. (Undergarments are optional for women but required for men).² 

Additional benefits to WBC treatments:

• Faster recovery after exercise – Following exercise, cold treatments have been found to improve the entire body by speeding up the recovery process. 
• Immune system improvement – WBC has been found to improve the entire immune system. According to  Jack Kruse, a respected neurosurgeon, cryotherapy has been found to boost the immune system by having the body trigger the hypothalamus where it turns on the anti-inflammatory process.
• Increased energy and improvement in metabolism – One of the most immediate differences patients will notice is an increase in metabolism and overall energy levels. Immediately following treatment, patients will have an increase in catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline), which gives patient a euphoric feeling. 
• Decreased inflammation – One of the main benefits of WBC is reducing inflammation. Several key studies have shown that cryotherapy has key improvement for soft tissue injuries and rejuvenation of damaged tissue.

Cold-Water Immersion  

Cold-water immersion (aka cold water therapy) includes ice baths, cold water plunges, or cold showers. During cold-water immersion, you’ll typically submerge your body below the neck in 50 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 15 degrees Celsius) water for 5-15 minutes. This form of cryotherapy is typically used to help reduce soreness after exercise.⁴ 

Ice Application

Applying ice packs is a first-line treatment for injuries like sprains, strains, and fractures. Icing is also used to help reduce pain after exercise. After an injury, ice can help reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation. It is typically combined with rest, compression, and elevation as part of the R-I-C-E to help speed healing.⁵

Cryosurgery

Cryoblation, or cryosurgery, is a surgical procedure that uses extreme cold from liquid nitrogen or argon gas to freeze off or destroy abnormal tissue. Performed by a healthcare provider, cryosurgery can remove warts, skin tags, and pre-cancerous skin growths outside the body. In addition, cryosurgery is used externally to remove pre-cancerous skin growths and internally to destroy cancerous cells related to retinoblastoma, skin cancer, early-stage prostate cancer, liver cancer, and bone cancer.⁶⁷

Benefits of Cryotherapy  

Cryotherapy is often hyped as a miracle treatment for mental health conditions, muscle recovery, chronic pain, and inflammation-related health conditions. But despite claims, there isn’t enough evidence to prove that whole-body cryotherapy is effective.² Here are some of the potential benefits of cryotherapy.

Muscle Recovery 

Many athletes have popularized cryotherapy as a way to improve muscle recovery after exercise, but research is limited and mixed. A 2022 Chinese study of 12 runners found that whole-body cryotherapy reduced muscle damage and inflammation more effectively than cold-water immersion.⁸ Another small study had similar results and found that whole-body cryotherapy decreased muscle pain and inflammation.⁹ However, a 2014 review found that whole-body cryotherapy did not significantly reduce muscle soreness.¹⁰ 

Chronic Pain Relief 

Cryotherapies like ice application and cold-water immersion can temporarily numb the skin, which may reduce pain. However, there is not enough evidence to prove cryotherapy reduces inflammation-related chronic pain. In a 2020 review, researchers found that whole-body cryotherapy and ice application offered short-term pain relief for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis (inflammatory arthritis that affects the spine). However, the cryotherapy protocols varied, and the effect on long-term pain wasn’t explored.¹  

Skin Conditions and Cancer 

Cryosurgery is an effective and safe way to destroy cancerous cells and remove skin lesions, moles, and warts.⁶ Some old research claims that non-medical cryotherapies may help treat itching and inflammation linked to eczema, but these findings are not well substantiated.¹¹ Despite these findings, whole-body cryotherapy isn’t an effective eczema treatment. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) also does not recommend whole-body cryotherapy since it can injure your skin.¹²

Sleep

There is not enough evidence that cryotherapy improves your Zzz’s. Still, some studies have found links between cryotherapy and sleep quality. Research on muscle recovery in runners found cryotherapy helped improve sleep quality. Whole-body cryotherapy specifically appeared to help runners sleep the best.⁸ Another 2019 study found men who did post-workout whole-body cryotherapy slept with less disturbed movement. They also reported better sleep than those who didn’t have cryotherapy.¹³ 

Risks of Cryotherapy

Spending too much time in any freezing condition can injure your skin. However, whole-body cryotherapy has more risks since it puts your body in below-freezing temperatures. In addition, the FDA has not approved any whole-body cryotherapy devices for safety and effectiveness.²

Potential risks of whole-body cryotherapy include:¹²²

• Frostbite: People have developed mild frostbite after whole-body cryotherapy froze tissue beneath the skin. In one rare case, severe frostbite resulted in painful blisters, swelling, and third-degree burns.
• Rash (cold panniculitis): This itchy and painful rash can develop if extreme cold injures the fatty tissue layer of our skin. This rash can look like hard bumps, scaly patches, or deep lumps. 
• Suffocation: While rare, in chambers that use liquid nitrogen, the vapors can reduce oxygen levels in closed rooms and cause people to pass out or suffocate. 

Keep in mind that you might feel a bit sore, numb, tingly, and may even experience some pain the first time you try cryotherapy. This is normal, and should go away within 24 hours. Cryotherapy can also worsen health conditions like nerve damage, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Pregnant people should also avoid cryotherapy. If you have any health conditions, talk with your healthcare provider before trying cryotherapy treatments, especially whole-body cryotherapy.¹²

Ice or Heat: What’s Best for Your Pain?

guidelines to help you figure out which to use when.

You twisted an ankle, ran a grueling 20 miles or are coping with a bout of tendonitis. Whatever type of injury you have, your first instinct is probably to ease the pain. Applying heat or ice to the affected area can be helpful —but which one should you use?

Ice and heat work differently to treat injuries, and their effects provide clues as to which method would be most effective for your pain. “Applying ice constricts blood vessels, decreases blood flow and reduces inflammation and pain,” says David A. Wang, MD, a sports medicine physician at HSS Paramus.

Follow these guidelines from Dr. Wang to figure out which is right for your injury.

When to use ice

Ice is best for acute injuries, including bumps, sprains, strains, pulled muscles and acute joint pain. An injury is acute if it is less than two to four weeks old. “It’s best to apply ice immediately after an injury and continue to ice for the first 24 to 72 hours,” says Dr. Wang. This reduces inflammation and bruising, which is important because they can cause additional tissue damage.

Ice helps the healing process and can continue to be an effective therapy for one or two weeks after the initial injury. If symptoms persist past the first few weeks, you can try applying heat to help with muscle stiffness.

How to use ice safely

“When we talk about applying ice, it doesn’t have to be literally ice cubes; it can be anything that’s cold,” says Dr. Wang. An ice pack or block, a bag of frozen vegetables (peas work well), an ice bath or a cold wrap can also do the trick.

While there are no set rules, applying ice for 10 to 15 minutes is long enough. Then remove the ice and let the tissue return to a normal temperature. Reapply on and off throughout the day. “Work it into your life,” advises Dr. Wang, and use it as long as it’s helpful.

Applying ice directly can actually burn your skin, so use a towel or other barrier between your skin and the ice for protection. Take precautions if you have decreased skin sensation caused by neuropathy, a common complication of diabetes, Raynaud’s syndrome or other issues. These illnesses dull your sensitivity to cold. Because extreme cold can damage the skin, be extra mindful of how long you leave ice on.

When to use heat

Heat is best for chronic pain or after swelling has gone down. “A chronic injury is one that has lasted for longer than four weeks, or a much older injury or condition that has not resolved,” says Dr. Wang.

Heat can help loosen tight joints and muscles and provide pain relief for chronic muscle and joint pain.

The one thing you never want to do is use heat in the first days after an acute injury. Applying heat can increase inflammation and worsen your condition.

How to use heat safely

Apply heat with a heating pad, a hot-water bottle, a warm compress, a hot bath or a heat wrap. As with ice, remove the heat source after 10 to 15 minutes. Heat should be used on and off throughout the day for as long as it provides relief.

Heat can also burn or damage skin, so place a barrier between your skin and the heat source. Also, refrain from falling asleep with heat applied to avoid burning your skin.

When to use both heat and ice

• Before and after workouts. Most workouts include a warm-up and cool-down phase. The same general approach can apply to the use of heat or ice in your workout routine. Use heat before a workout to warm up your muscles and loosen your joints. Use ice after a workout to cool down or reduce muscle and joint inflammation. “It’s not advisable to use ice before a workout. This can cause muscles to stiffen and could affect your performance,” explains Dr. Wang.
• To treat arthritis.Arthritis can cause stiffness and pain in your joints. “With arthritis, ice and heat play a role,” says Dr. Wang. If you are having an acute arthritis flare with pain, swelling, and warmth, this is often from inflammation and ice should be used. For general chronic stiffness, heat may work better.
• To help with overuse issues such as tendonitis and tendinosis. “I tend to favor ice early on as there is potentially more inflammation at this stage,” says Dr. Wang. “If symptoms continue for a month or longer, ice or heat can be helpful.”

When to see a doctor

Some injuries require medical attention, not just rest and heat or ice. If you’ve sprained your ankle and it’s limiting your function or you can’t bear weight on it, for example, see your doctor as soon as possible.

Ice and heat therapy are not cures,. They are techniques that can be helpful to promote healing and ease pain.” Additional treatments such as over-the-counter, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or physical therapy might also help. Ask your doctor for recommendations.