When you hear the word ultrasound most people think about pregnant women receiving the procedure to check on the development or gender of her baby. Ultrasound can also be used to treat things like kidney stones, uterine fibroids, and certain types of cancer. Ultrasound therapy can be used to treat a variety of conditions and act as a therapy for those with body pain.
What is Ultrasound Therapy?
Ultrasound therapy is a treatment that helps reduce muscle pain by using sound waves. The high-frequency waves stimulate deep inside muscle tissue to minimize pain, stiffness, and swelling. This promotes proper circulation in the body and reduces painful movement. The treatment is well received because the procedure is a painless and non-invasive way to help people with chronic pain.
The different types of Ultrasound
There are two main types of ultrasound: thermal and mechanical. In thermal ultrasound, the wand makes the tissue vibrate and heat up. This type of ultrasound is typically used to treat soft tissue pain and musculoskeletal issues. The other type is called mechanical ultrasound, also referred to as cavitation ultrasound therapy. Mechanical ultrasound therapy uses waves created by the machine to create pressure differences in tissue fluids, which lead to the formation of bubbles. When these bubbles interact with body tissues they burst and create small shockwaves. The shockwaves can be used to break down kidney stones, making them easier and safer to remove.
How does it work?
The ultrasound machine works by sending an electrical current through crystals inside the ultrasound probe or better known as the ultrasound wand. The wand vibrates, causing waves to travel through the skin, deep into the muscle tissue. The waves then transfer energy to the tissues to provide the needed treatment. Ultrasound can focus on tissues deep within the body without affecting other tissues close to the surface. While receiving your ultrasound therapy your medical provider can adjust the frequency and intensity of the ultrasound and the duration of the procedure to achieve the best results.
What does it do?
Ultrasound therapy can be an effective way to treat the swelling of muscles, joints, and ligaments. The mild heating effect of the ultrasound helps reduce inflammation and heal muscle pain. The ultrasound also aids tissue fluids called lymph and makes it easier to travel through the body. Lymph is a vital fluid in the body that transports white blood cells throughout the body. Due to this ultrasound has been known to promote healing in the body.
What to expect
On the day of your treatment, you should wear loose clothing that can be easily removed, depending on the area in which you will receive the treatment. Before your treatment, the technician performing the procedure will assess the skin to check for any wounds or infections. If your skin is clear, then the technician will begin by applying a gel or cream to your skin. This will form a barrier to protect your skin and help the ultrasound waves reach the muscle tissue. The ultrasound wand will then be lightly pressed onto your skin.
What does it feel like?
Some people may not feel anything, but some people say that they feel a slight warmth or tingle on the skin. If the ultrasound wand is held in one spot for more than five seconds it can bring slight discomfort but it should never be painful. If you’re feeling discomfort let your technician know.
Get help
Natural health center offers ultrasound therapy through our highly trained team of pain management specialists. They will develop a customized treatment plan to treat you. If you are interested in ultrasound therapy contact the Natural Health Center in Clifton, NJ. To schedule an appointment, call us at 973-370-9155 or fill out our online contact form, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
September is National pain awareness month and aims to raise awareness about people dealing with forms of chronic pain. Nearly 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain – more than the amount of people that have diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined.
Understanding Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is long-standing pain that persists beyond the usual recovery period or occurs along with a chronic health condition, such as arthritis. Chronic pain may be ‘on’ and ‘off’ or continuous.” This is different from other pain, such as acute pain, which comes from inflammation, injury, or surgery and only stays for a few weeks. Chronic pain can feel many different ways and often comes in the form of aching, burning, shooting, squeezing, stiffness, stinging, and throbbing.
Chronic pain often causes a decreased quality of life for people coping with the ailment. It can cause you to pull away from loved ones, events, or things you’d usually be able to do that you no longer can. Chronic pain can also cause people to need to take off work and abandon responsibilities to cope with the pain they’re experiencing.
People with chronic pain are 64% less likely to view their job as rewarding. Working with pain can also cause heightened levels of stress, which can lead to depression and other ailments. The economic burden of chronic pain is major, it cost United States an estimated $560 to $635 billion in 2010, due to a combination of medical costs and productivity lost.
Treating Chronic Pain
There are many people dealing with chronic pain on a daily basis. Chronic pain is treated in a multitude of ways and the approach often depends on factors like the type of pain you have, the cause of pain, and your age or overall health. There are many medications made for treating chronic pain. Such as anticonvulsants, muscle relaxants, topical products, etc.
However, a lot of people are deciding to make lifestyle changes to cope with their newfound ailment. There are basic health and lifestyle changes people are reverting back to in order to take care of themselves. Stress can often hinder coping with chronic pain and it is beneficial to reduce it as much as possible.
Some methods are practicing mindfulness and doing things you enjoy or find relieving. Another factor is exercise, low-intensity workouts are often stress relievers for people and have numerous benefits to your health. Also, eating a healthy and anti-inflammatory diet is beneficial to chronic pain as well as getting good and basic nutrients. Sleep is also a vital factor in health and stress management.
Feel Better
Chronic pain can have a major effect on your quality of life. At the Natural Health Center we will work with you to help relieve your pain. Everyone’s healing process is unique and takes place on a different timetable. However, we’ll look for the root cause of your pain and give you the best chance of recovering and returning to your favorite activities.
If you are suffering from chronic pain, contact the Natural Health Center in Clifton, NJ. Our board-certified doctors have helped people with chronic pain work to alleviate their suffering. To schedule an appointment, call us at 973-370-9155 or fill out our online contact form, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
This is a hard question to answer as there are many different causes of knee pain. The unfortunate truth, however, is that most people wait TOO long with knee pain before seeking help. There does come a certain point at which the only treatment available is total knee replacement surgery. Thankfully, there are many treatment options available before the point of no return. You should seek out immediate care if:
You had a fall or traumatic injury
Your knee is swollen
Your knee pain lasts more than 1 week
Other reasons to seek out a healthcare professional are if you have difficulty or pain with any of the following actions:
Going up or downstairs
Kneeling
Walking
Standing
Getting up from sitting
At the Natural Health Center, we have trained knee specialists to evaluate and assess the exact cause and reason behind your aches and pains. We can provide nonsurgical, helpful treatments to get you back on your feet and doing the activities you want to do instead of planning around your knee pain! For more information on our services or to schedule an appointment, contact Natural Health Center of Clifton today.
Occupational Therapy is a holistic, client-centered approach focused on treating the whole person. We focus on how we can get you back to participating in your daily activities without limitations. This can be work, school, home management responsibilities, self-care activities, and leisure activities. At the Natural Health Center of Clifton, occupational therapists will use manual therapy, stretching, exercise, progressive strengthening, and modalities to assist in your recovery and healing from your acute back injury to your chronic arthritic knee pain.
As we age, our body goes through degenerative changes, one main area susceptible to these changes is our knees. In occupational therapy, a typical treatment for knee pain may look like this:
Manual therapy: Massaging the muscles that surround the knee to release tension and pain.
Modalities: Using heat to relax the muscles and reduce pain before exercise or ice for inflammatory responses.
Stretching: Elongating the muscles surrounding the knee to increase flexibility and range of motion in the lower extremities.
Exercises/ Progressive Strengthening Exercises: Increasing endurance and strengthening the muscles around the knee to maintain knee stability and participate in daily activities without increased pain.
Just a few of the stretches and exercises we might do in the clinic are:
