Therapy and Treatment
This piece was inspired by a reaction to one of my Facebook posts. I suggested a device to eliminate incontinence, and a lady angrily replied: “It costs 35,000! Good thing you can buy them!”. But is she right? Is that really expensive? Let’s take a look.
Stroke is a common and serious condition. Although immediate mortality is high, thanks to modern life-saving interventions there are now more survivors. However, survivors often face residual symptoms such as paralysis, speech problems, and difficulties with self-care. Very few are lucky enough to escape without any loss of function. Effective rehabilitation after stroke is essential. You must understand that recovery is a slow process — it can take years to "reclaim" a lost function. In our country the rehabilitation system is far from ideal, so you will mostly depend on yourself and your family. The biggest problems are lack of information and losing your motivation early and giving up continuous practice.
You may hear the term selective stimulation current from doctors and physiotherapists. It is a form of muscle stimulation (EMS) treatment used for muscles whose motor nerve has been damaged (denervated), making voluntary movement impossible or only partially possible (peripheral paralysis). Selective stimulation current targets only the affected muscle and causes it to contract (hence the term “selective”). Here are the basic facts.
The EMS, or electrical muscle stimulation method has been used for decades in athlete preparation… well… NOT in our country. Why is that? In my firm opinion the reason is simple: lack of language skills. Because most Hungarians do not know any foreign language, they do not read international literature, cannot keep up with world trends, and remain stuck in the familiar. The majority still firmly believe that training equals: “train a lot and eat lots of grilled chicken with rice.” They have no clue about most of the modern, drug-free possibilities offered by technology — as evidenced by the reactions to my articles. Knowledge is, to put it mildly, patchy about what a muscle stimulator is for, how it works, and how to use it. Let’s look at the basic info…
Muscle stimulation (EMS) is an electrotherapy procedure that can be applied to treat muscles. Depending on the settings of the electrical impulse, its effects can include improving blood circulation, regaining muscle strength, increasing muscle mass, halting atrophy, relieving stiffness and spasms, etc. Let’s look at the basics.
If you have joint inflammation, back pain, or any joint pain bothering you, you are almost always referred to physiotherapy, where you will very likely receive ultrasound therapy. If getting there is difficult or you are short on time, you can also buy a therapeutic ultrasound device. A good, usable device can be purchased for around 25,000 forints. That way you can use it at home.
Muscle stimulation uses electrical impulses applied to muscles to cause them to contract. Although there are serious physiological foundations behind muscle excitation, the essence is relatively simple to understand. The goal is to get the muscle to work not only when the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord) sends the command, but also to be able to activate it artificially.
Although ultrasound treatment is an excellent and effective method, it is not always suitable or applicable for everyone. What are the contraindications of ultrasound therapy? I discuss this in the third part of my film series on therapeutic ultrasound treatment. You can watch the previous part (Does the ultrasound beam itself heal?) by clicking here.
Therapeutic ultrasound treatment is almost a default physiotherapy method for muscle and joint complaints. But does the ultrasound beam itself heal, or does it only set the healing process in motion? I discuss this in the second part of my video series about therapeutic ultrasound treatment. You can watch the previous part (How ultrasound works) by clicking here.
The frequency of the ultrasound wave primarily determines how deeply it can penetrate tissues and thus what effect it is capable of producing. I discuss this in the fourth episode of my video series on therapeutic ultrasound treatment. You can watch the previous episode (Contraindications of ultrasound treatment) by clicking here.
The therapeutic ultrasound beam can be continuous or pulsed (intermittent). The continuous beam contains a lot of energy, which is excellent for chronic complaints. Fresh injuries are generally more sensitive to high energy, so in acute cases pulsed (with short breaks) ultrasound treatment is more appropriate. I discuss this in the fifth part of my video series about therapeutic ultrasound treatment.
Acute and chronic conditions require ultrasound beams of different strengths (intensities). A fresh injury needs a different treatment than one that has been present for a few months. I discuss this in the sixth episode of my video series about therapeutic ultrasound treatment. You can watch the previous episode (Information about continuous and pulsed ultrasound modes) by clicking here.
