If you’re suffering from osteoarthritis, then you’re probably looking for ways to treat your symptoms and find relief from the pain and inflammation in your joints. One increasingly popular treatment option is therapeutic ultrasound, which has been used for years to treat arthritic symptoms.
Therapeutic ultrasound therapy is a therapeutic method that increases healing and relieves pain in soft tissue injuries, including those related to osteoarthritis. This treatment has been used to relieve pain in conditions such as shin splints, tennis elbow, and shoulder bursitis.
However, it can be especially effective in helping patients with osteoarthritis recover from their symptoms quickly and efficiently.
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How Does it Work?
Ultrasound therapy is a type of physical therapy that uses sound waves to treat pain. The sound waves generate heat, which can help reduce inflammation and promote healing. Ultrasound therapy is often used to treat conditions like osteoarthritis, tendinitis, and bursitis.
Although ultrasound therapy can treat a wide range of conditions, it’s most commonly used to treat chronic joint pain. It’s applied to an affected area using transducers, which are placed against or above your skin.
When switched on, these devices produce high-frequency sound waves that penetrate deep into your tissues. The therapeutic effect is localized to an affected area because ultrasound can only travel through a few inches of tissue before being absorbed and lost.
What Results Can You Expect?
If you’re suffering from osteoarthritis, you may be looking for relief in all the wrong places. Over-the-counter pain medications can provide temporary relief, but they don’t do anything to improve the underlying condition. Surgery is a last resort option that comes with its own risks and complications.
Before deciding on the treatment of osteoarthritis by yourself, you should first consult a healthcare advocate to devise a proper diagnosis and treatment plan according to your condition. Most healthcare professionals opt for ultrasound therapy to relieve the pain and improve your range of motion.
And unlike many medications, this method has no known side effects. Moreover, it’s a low-risk option that is also cost-effective.
How Often Should You Use it?
Experts recommend the treatment frequency of therapeutic ultrasound three times per week. Also, the sessions and ultrasound exposure should last no more than 7 minutes. However, the exposure and treatment frequency can vary from patient to patient.
The duration of exposure may vary depending on the condition of the patient and the severity of the pain.
What is its Effectiveness for Knee Arthritis?
Different studies have evaluated the effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound for osteoarthritis. Some found little to no benefits, while others came up with many benefits. A study in 2019 found that this method of therapy is an effective and safe treatment for osteoarthritis in the knee.
It helped in relieving pain and improving the functioning of the knee. Also., both pulsed and continuous ultrasound was found to be helpful in this regard. Patients subjected to this therapy show quick recovery and pain reduction for a considerable time.
The good thing about this treatment method is that it comes with no side effects and proves effective for patients.
