Ultrasound treatment — what you should know

What is ultrasound?

Sound is a mechanical vibration.

• Sound waves with a frequency below 20 Hz are infrasound (you cannot hear these),
• the sounds heard by the human ear lie between 20 and 20,000 Hz,
• above 20,000 Hz we speak of ultrasound — you cannot hear these vibrations either.

Medical applications of ultrasound

Ultrasound has been used in medicine since 1938. Today it is applied for diagnostic, surgical and therapeutic purposes. It is excellent for (among other things)

• breaking kidney and gallstones,
• "cutting" tissues (as a surgical knife),
• ultrasonic inhalation (e.g., in nebulizers and salt therapy devices),
• removing dental tartar (in dentistry),
• diagnosis (for example, examining internal organs or a fetus in the uterus),
• and in physiotherapy for treating musculoskeletal disorders and reducing inflammation.

Effects of ultrasound treatment

• relaxes tight, stiff muscles,
• has beneficial effects in joint and muscle calcification and wear,
• helps dissolve hematomas,
• reduces inflammatory processes (e.g., tendon and tendon sheath inflammations),
• alleviates radicular pain caused by herniated discs, lumbago and sciatica (reduces the edema around the nerve root),
• eases neuritis complaints,
• improves lymphatic circulation, etc.

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How does ultrasound treatment work?

The ultrasound beam is a mechanical vibration. The tissues it passes through take up this vibration. This is the so-called micromassage.

The vibration of the tissues (i.e., the mechanical energy) is converted into heat energy. The tissues warm up, their blood circulation speeds up, which directly promotes healing processes. This warmth also has tendon- and muscle-relaxing, pain-relieving and vasodilating effects.

Three beneficial effects of ultrasound are utilized during treatment:

• the mechanical effect that produces the micromassage,
• the thermal effect — i.e., warming of the tissues, stimulation of blood and lymph circulation, and acceleration of healing processes,
• and the chemical effect that improves oxygen supply and vasodilation.

In summary: it is not the ultrasound beam itself that heals, but the self-healing processes of your body that are initiated and activated by it. The ultrasound beam is like giving a push to a stationary swing — it gets moving. Ultrasound treatment therefore kick-starts favorable processes and your body takes care of the rest.

Don't underestimate it! Think about how powerful these processes are: if one of your bones breaks, doctors only set and immobilize it. You don't receive medication and no doctor is constantly by your side, yet after weeks it heals. Your body handles infections and inflammations in a similar way if you support it. Ultrasound helps with this.

What can you use ultrasound for?

Ultrasound treatment can be used for degenerative joint diseases (for example osteoarthritis), muscle strains, muscle sprains, sports injuries, tendon insertions and tendon sheath disorders, bone spurs, tendon contractures, and more. Beyond healing, it also offers various practical uses.
Click here to read more about the applications of ultrasound

Types of ultrasound treatment: contact and underwater

Most ultrasound treatments are so-called contact treatments, where the applicator head must be moved directly on the skin in contact with it.

If this contact causes pain (for example, if rheumatoid inflammation makes the hand joints extremely sensitive), or if the treated surface is uneven or small, or in special cases (such as skin loss, leg ulcers, etc.), you can use the subaquatic, i.e., underwater treatment instead of direct contact. Only devices with a waterproof applicator head are suitable for this (for example the MediSound 3000 device)! Immerse both the applicator head and the body part to be treated in a vessel filled with water and apply the beam holding the head 1–2 cm away from the skin. Because ultrasound travels through water without distortion, the effect of the treatment is the same as with contact treatment.

Can ultrasound treatment be harmful?

You can overdose an ultrasound treatment. It can also have harmful effects if you treat an area with too high an intensity or for too long. The main effect of ultrasound comes from the warming of tissues. If a region receives too much at once, it will not help but rather halt healing. Think of it like sunbathing. If you sunbathe regularly for 15–20 minutes, you gradually tan; but if you lie in the sun for 3–4 hours at once, you don't tan — you burn. Ultrasound helps when applied in appropriate and regular doses.

There are tissues (e.g., the eyeball, testes, ovaries, thyroid) that should not be treated. Before ultrasound treatment, thoroughly inform yourself about the correct dosing and consult your doctor so you choose the most appropriate treatment intensity, duration and frequency! Read about the dosing rules for ultrasound treatment in this article