Ultrasound Therapy – Healing Effects and Beauty Care

Ultrasound is a high-frequency sound wave. The human ear cannot perceive it, so it is inaudible. Ultrasound therapy is a method used both in medicine and in beauty care. Sound is a mechanical vibration, so treatment with it is mechanotherapy.

You most commonly encounter ultrasound during your examinations. In internal medicine, obstetrics, gastroenterology, angiology, or cardiology offices, ultrasound beams directed inside your body "trace out" your organs, vessels, etc., showing their outline and condition. Normal and abnormal sizes, tissue structures, and foreign elements can be seen. These images help to determine the cause of your complaint and establish a diagnosis.

Ultrasound therapy is used for musculoskeletal complaints (joint and tendon inflammation, muscle pain, contracture, etc.) and for dermatological/cosmetic treatments.

For musculoskeletal complaints, usually 1 MHz ultrasound is used because these waves can penetrate 10-15 cm deep into the body. In contrast, 3 MHz ultrasound reaches only 2-3 cm deep, so its primary use is for skin and its treatment, and it can also be applied for superficial tendons and small joints (e.g., finger joints). Cavitation treatments are most effective with frequencies below 640 KHz.

From this, it follows that a 3 MHz device is not suitable for treating, for example, the knee or hip joints because these waves cannot penetrate deeply enough. However, they are 100% effective on the surface. Meanwhile, 1 MHz ultrasound has a significantly smaller effect on the skin and superficial structures but can reach deeper areas. Both 1 and 3 MHz ultrasound have little cavitation effect; frequencies below 640 KHz have no significant healing effects but are suitable for fat breakdown.

How does ultrasound work?

Ultrasound treatment should be focused directly on the inflamed tissues. The treatment head emitting ultrasound waves at the appropriate intensity must be placed directly on the skin. Ultrasound gel is mandatory for proper penetration. The treatment head should be moved slowly and in circular motions over the painful area. Do not "stop" on a certain point; the head must be constantly moving.

The main effect is tissue heating

Ultrasound beams introduced into the body interact with the treated tissues. The delivered energy is absorbed, converted into heat, and warms the tissues. This speeds up circulation in the area, improving the elimination of metabolic waste, including substances causing pain (toxins). The effects develop gradually, as healing essentially relies on indirectly stimulating the body's self-healing capacity.

In other words, the healing is not directly done by the ultrasound beam but by your body! Ultrasound is needed to initiate and accelerate the healing process.

The treatment reduces pain, inflammation, and swelling. Stiff muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints relax.

Ultrasound causes warming of tissues in this order: bone, tendons, ligaments, nerves, muscle, skin, internal organs, and least of all fat tissue. Bones are the most sensitive to ultrasound treatment.

If you treat your face with 1 MHz ultrasound, most of the waves pass through your skin to deeper tissue layers, so you are essentially "warming" the facial bones. Using 1 MHz causes significantly less effect on the face than the 3 MHz ultrasound. At the face, the 3 MHz frequency is fully utilized in the superficial layers and therefore exerts a stronger effect.

You cannot treat the same area with ultrasound "unlimitedly." Only treat for the necessary duration at one time. Treat every other day or once daily. For a palm-sized area, no more than 5-10 minutes per session is needed!

Do not apply treatment longer than recommended even if you have time! Excessive treatment at too high intensity and too long duration may cause adverse effects. The main effect of ultrasound is heating tissues. If too much is given at once, it inhibits rather than promotes healing. Think of it like sunbathing: regular 15-20 minute sessions slowly tan you, but lying in the sun for 3-4 hours at once does not tan but burns your skin.

Proper and regular doses of ultrasound help.

Mechanical effect = Micromassage

As mentioned, ultrasound is a mechanical vibration that somewhat "massages" the cells. This stimulates microcirculation and cellular function. The permeability of skin and cell membranes improves, allowing active ingredients to penetrate more easily and deeply. For example, ointments and cosmetics applied to the skin have deeper effects, strengthening their impact. This is why ultrasound is used in beauty treatments—to deeply deliver wrinkle treatments and skin firmness enhancers. On the face, 3 MHz ultrasound is used; for cellulite on buttocks, hips, and thighs, both 1 and 3 MHz can be applied.

Fat reduction effect – Cavitation

If you hold ultrasound in one spot for a long time, fat cells heat up and tiny bubbles form that want to "escape." They rupture fat cell walls, releasing fat that your lymphatic system and circulation remove. This effect is used in cosmetic fat reduction treatments.

Significant fat reduction occurs with frequencies below 640 KHz, such as devices using these frequencies (e.g., the LipoZero G15 cavitation cosmetic ultrasound). With 10 treatments, a 2-3 cm circumference reduction in hips or thighs is achievable.

Beware! Many vendors "trick" customers by attributing cavitation effects to all ultrasound devices. Therapeutic or facial 1 and 3 MHz ultrasound devices do have some fat reduction effect but are far less effective than devices specifically designed for fat reduction. It is like car racing: you can drive fast in a Formula 1 car, but not with a Trabant (although the Trabant moves along the road).

Product Recommendation: Therapeutic Ultrasound Devices

Therapeutic ultrasound devices designed for home use are specifically made to allow patients to treat chronic and recurring musculoskeletal conditions (e.g., rheumatism, osteoarthritis, arthritis, tendonitis, tendinopathy, lumbago, etc.) conveniently at home.

Go to devices! →

Application Areas of Ultrasound Therapy

From the above, it follows that ultrasound is worth applying when tissue heating, softening, increased blood circulation, and accelerating healing-regeneration processes are needed. Primarily for inflammatory processes, especially chronic (persistent) conditions. It also aids the deep delivery of active ingredients, so you can use it both for medical and beauty-care purposes.

Musculoskeletal Diseases

Ultrasound therapy is most extensively effective in treating musculoskeletal diseases, inflammations, injuries, and related pain relief.

• It quickly reduces nerve root swelling and edema in disc herniation, "pinched nerve," lumbago, and sciatica, thus decreasing pain.
• Other conditions: spondylosis, disc degeneration, fibromyalgia, bursitis, periarthritis.
• Reduces inflammation in tennis elbow and golfer's elbow.
• Relaxes stiff muscles around painful areas and dissipates myalgic knots.
• Can be used for nerve inflammation (neuritis) and trigeminal neuralgia.
• Effective in reducing symptoms of arthritis and osteoarthritis.
• Beneficial for Dupuytren's contracture-related tendon stiffness, tenosynovitis, muscle stiffness (e.g., stiff neck, torticollis), and muscle cramps.
• Reduces bruises (hematomas) 2-3 days after their formation (may worsen fresh bleeding).

Preparation before Physiotherapy

Ultrasound warms and relaxes muscles and tendons, making them more flexible. Ultrasonic treatment before physiotherapy specifically reduces pain caused by exercise and makes the therapy more effective.

Similarly beneficial before manual massage. Treating painful muscle knots before massage reduces discomfort and allows the therapist to work more effectively.

Acceleration of Drug and Active Ingredient Absorption

Ultrasound waves "loosen" cell membranes, allowing active ingredients and medications to penetrate deeper into tissues and improving their absorption. This effect is called phonophoresis.

This can be utilized in Peyronie's disease (induration penis plastica), where active ingredients can be delivered into the hard plaque causing penile curvature. (Otherwise, only penile injection can achieve this.)

Ultrasound treatment can also enhance the effects of cosmetic products. Ensure that only mild, low-intensity waves are used on the face!

Cosmetic Application of Ultrasound Therapy

In addition to healing, ultrasound therapy is widely used in beauty treatments. Ultrasound aids deeper penetration of cosmetic active ingredients, cellulite and orange peel treatments, wrinkle reduction, and skin tightening. It is also used to eliminate stubborn fat deposits and fat pads.

Ultrasonic "Liposuction," also known as Cavitation

With a "true" cavitation ultrasound device (frequencies below 640 KHz), 10 treatments can reduce, for example, your waist circumference by 2-4 cm. It is important to immediately perform mechanical lymphatic drainage or light exercise (swimming, jogging) following cavitation treatment. Without this, the dissolved fat droplets re-solidify, and no effect remains.

Significant fat reduction effects exist with frequencies below 640 KHz, and devices using such frequencies (e.g., the LipoZero G15 cavitation cosmetic ultrasound) deliver noticeable results.

Many vendors claim cavitation effects for all ultrasound devices, but this is misleading. Although therapeutic or facial 1 and 3 MHz ultrasound devices have some fat reduction effect, they fall far short compared to devices specifically designed for fat reduction. Their cavitation effect is only a few percent compared to devices below 640 KHz.

It's like car racing. You can move along the road with a Trabant, but to speed, you need a Ferrari.

Treatment of Cellulite

In cellulite, waste deposits build up in the dermal layer of the skin, forming increasingly large lumps. Their growth causes your skin surface to become uneven, resembling orange peel. Some data suggest that about 90% of adult women are affected by cellulite. It is primarily noticeable around the hips and thighs. Diet usually has little effect on it.

Ultrasound therapy is also used for cellulite treatment. It increases local circulation and due to mild cavitation, cellulite nodules break down, releasing harmful substances that circulation removes. After treatment, perform 30-40 minutes of active exercise (jogging, swimming) or use a wave massage device. Without this, the material of the broken nodules re-aggregates instead of leaving.

Wrinkle Treatment

Ultrasound therapy facilitates the penetration of active ingredients such as essential oils, fat-soluble vitamins (e.g., vitamins A and E), and water-soluble substances through the skin. By loosening tissues, it is highly effective for beauty care applications, for example, wrinkle treatment.

Ultrasound Dosage

You can read in detail about the appropriate dosing of ultrasound treatment in this article of mine.

For now, I just mention that ultrasound stimulates healing only in certain doses!

If the treatment time is too short, the beneficial effect is minimal.

Doubling the treatment time means "too much for the tissues," which stops existing healing processes.

Overdosing—e.g., holding high-intensity radiation on one spot for minutes—can cause tissue damage and make things worse.

Therefore, ultrasound should be used only after diagnosis; treat with the intensity and duration recommended for the disease. More ultrasound is not necessarily better!

If you follow the guidelines, you can expect the favorable effects described above.