Therapeutic Ultrasound Therapy

Therapeutic ultrasound is different to the diagnostic ultrasound that you might think of when you first hear the word ‘ultrasound’.

Diagnostic ultrasound is used to give the clinician an image so is typically used during pregnancy or for identifying an injury. Therapeutic ultrasound is used to treat chronic pain and promote healing as well as in acute injuries such as muscle strains and joint sprains.

It works by providing a deep heating to the soft tissues which helps to increase blood circulation in those tissues.

Theoretically this promotes healing and decreases pain. Secondly, therapeutic ultrasound can also use the ultrasound energy to cause a rapid contraction and expansion of microscopic gas bubbles around the injured tissue which theoretically speeds the healing process.