Ultrasound and Interferential Therapy: Are they Accelerating the Process of Healing? -All You Should Know.
Various tools are employed in the course of physiotherapy and pain management to facilitate recovery and optimize the healing process. Today, innovative techniques include ultrasound therapy and interferential therapy. For those seeking physiotherapy in Surrey, or desiring more information about new treatment options a physiotherapy clinic may offer, a little background will prove useful in making an educated decision.
What is Ultrasound Therapy?
Ultrasound is a noninvasive treatment modality that uses high-frequency sound waves to facilitate tissue healing. It was first developed for diagnostic purposes but found its place in physiotherapy due to its ability to stimulate deep tissues without causing discomfort.
How Ultrasound Therapy Works
Medical ultrasound treatment uses sound waves that can permeate tissues and build heat in the region treated. The oscillations from these sound waves increase blood flow and the rate of metabolism in the cells to expedite the body’s natural healing processes. This modality is highly useful in the following conditions:
Injuries to soft tissues involving strains, sprains, and tendonitis.
- Chronic pain disorders such as arthritis.
- Scar tissue treatment.
- Benefits of Ultrasound Therapy
- Pain Relief: Ultrasound therapy helps in pain relief by improving blood circulation and also by toning down muscle spasms. The heat so produced by the sound waves soothes the sore muscles and relieves pain for some time.
- Tissue Healing: The therapy increases the rate of synthesis of collagen, which is vital to the repair of tissues and hence useful in injuries such as sprains of tendons and ligaments.
- Reduced Inflammation: The ultrasound treatment encourages better blood flow; hence, it helps to reduce swelling or inflammation, which helps recover from acute injuries.
- Scar Tissue Breakdown: The ultrasound treatment will break the old scar tissue, thus improving the flexibility and function of the tissues.
What is Interferential Therapy (IFT)?
Other popular methods of treatment in physiotherapy include low-frequency electrical currents, which help reduce pain and also contribute to curing the muscles. These are known as Interferential Therapy or IFT. Because it is very effective for pain management and healing, its usage can be seen rampantly both in sports injury clinics and in general physiotherapy clinics.
How Interferential Therapy Works
It sends minor electrical impulses to the injured area through electrodes placed on the skin. These cross underneath the skin, at which time an “interference current” is generated. This current acts to stimulate the tissues, encourage blood flow, and increase endorphin release, thus providing natural pain relief.
Benefits of Interferential Therapy
- Pain Reduction: IFT is very effective in managing acute and chronic pains by blocking the pain signals that are sent to the brain.
- Muscle Stimulation: The treatment allows for the stimulation of all those muscles that may have weakened or gone dormant due to an injury. It improves functionality and makes the muscles stronger.
- Improved Circulation: IFT goes a long way in encouraging good blood flow to the site of injury, hence facilitating the repair of tissues, and reducing inflammation.
- Increased Range of Motion: Most of the patients were able to show improvement in range of motion and flexibility after some sessions of IFT. This is a very important factor for recovery in cases of joint injuries and muscular strains.
Ultrasound and Interferential Therapy: A Perfect Combination for Better Healing
It simply means that in the event of having physiotherapy Surrey, it will be nice to find a clinic that offers ultrasound therapy and interferential therapy. Such two treatments combined indeed result in a superb combination of healing and pain management. Here is how they complement one another:
- Pain and Inflammation Management: While ultrasound therapy reduces inflammation and stimulates the tissue repair process, IFT offers immediate pain relief and also aids muscle function.
- Faster Healing: Because of improved circulation arising out of the action of ultrasound and pain modulation with IFT, faster healing can be achieved, which is of prime importance for athletes or patients requiring fast recovery.
- Complementary Effects: Ultrasound acts on deeper tissues, while IFT does its job on superficial levels. That is, together they can provide multi-layer treatment.
Conditions Treated by Ultrasound and Interferential Therapy
Ultrasound and interferential therapy are among the treatment options employed in Surrey physiotherapy clinics to treat a wide range of conditions, which include the following:
- Sporting Injuries: These therapies provide ample assistance in the recovery from muscle strain, ligament sprain, and tendon injuries due to the analgesic effect related to these therapies and the facilitation of tissue healing.
- Arthritis: These therapies also help with the management of chronic pain and the improvement of joint mobility with decreased stiffness among arthritic patients.
- Post-Surgical Rehabilitation: These modalities enhance circulation and thus assist in the healing of tissues post-surgery, especially those requiring orthopedic surgery.
- Neck and Back Pain: Pain symptoms and increased mobility associated with conditions such as herniated discs, sciatica, and generalized muscle spasms may also be amenable to both ultrasound and IFT.
- Chronic Pain Syndromes: Disorders such as fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome may also be appropriate for both therapies, in light of the analgesic and muscle-stimulating effects of these therapies.
What to Expect During Treatment
This would be what one finds in a normal session if one visited any physiotherapy clinic in Surrey offering ultrasound and interferential therapy:
- Assessment: The overall condition of the patient will be assessed by the physiotherapist, pain levels discussed, and he/she will come up with a customized treatment plan.
- Application of Ultrasound: A little gel on the area will help in conducting the ultrasound waves, and the ultrasound device will be moved on the skin for some minutes.
- Placement of IFT Electrodes: Electrodes are put around the painful area, and a mild current is introduced. You may feel slight tingling because the current will be stimulating the tissues.
- Combination Therapy: Most clinics would alternate or combine these therapies in one session for maximum benefit.
- Post-Treatment: You might feel immediate or gradual relief as the therapy acts to facilitate tissue repair and reduce inflammation.
How to Choose a Physiotherapy Clinic in Surrey
These therapies are invaluable, and if you are interested in them, it is good to find a Surrey physiotherapy clinic that will offer you personalized care, introducing you to the latest techniques. Certain things you should look at while selecting a clinic include:
- Qualified and Experienced Therapists: The therapists attending you at the clinic must be qualified and have adequate experience in ultrasound and interferential therapy.
- Treatment Programs Customized: The good clinic will chart a treatment program based on your condition, case history, and rehabilitation goals.
- Range of Services: Most injuries tend to benefit from the integrated approach; hence, you may also take into account those clinics that offer other services such as manual therapy, exercise therapy, and massage therapy, among others.
- Convenient Location and Hours: Accessibility might make a difference in keeping up with your treatment; hence, you would want to opt for one close to you with flexible hours.
Conclusion
Modern physiotherapy is well equipped with basic modalities like ultrasound and interferential therapy, which help in the solution of problems relating to pain relief and recovery from injury quite effectively. Whether you have a new injury, a chronic condition, or even need post-surgical rehabilitation, these therapies may be extremely relieving and quicken the course of healing.
This would include an outpatient facility that can provide physiotherapy treatment, which can include the use of ultrasound and interferential therapy for the patients requiring such physiotherapy in Surrey. Indeed this could be an initial step that is very important to recovery and rehabilitation. You are best advised to go by what a duly qualified physiotherapist may have to say in terms of the best type of treatment for you.
