Campus Physical Therapy Center

Ultrasound

Therapeutic ultrasound refers generally to any type of procedure that uses ultrasound for therapeutic benefit. This includes HIFU, lithotripsy, targeted ultrasounddrug delivery, trans-dermal ultrasound drug delivery, ultrasound hemostasis, and ultrasound assisted thrombolysis.

Therapeutic ultrasound in physical therapy is alternating compression and rarefaction of sound waves with a frequency of >20,000 cycles/second. Therapeutic ultrasound frequency used is 0.7 to 3.3 MHz. Maximum energy absorption in soft tissue is 2 to 5 cm. Intensity decreases as the waves penetrate deeper. They are absorbed primarily by connective tissue: ligaments, tendons, and fascia (and also by scar tissue).

Therapeutic ultrasound may have two types of benefit: Thermal effects and non thermal effects. Thermal effects are due to the absorption of the sound waves. Non thermal effects are from cavitation, microstreaming and acoustic streaming. Cavitational effects result from the vibration of the tissue causing microscopic air bubbles to form, which transmit the vibrations in a way that directly stimulates cell membranes. This physical stimulation appears to enhance the cell-repair effects of the inflammatory response.

Therapeutic ultrasound is sometimes recommended for muscle as well as joint pain.

Ultrasound has been used in various drug delivery applications to enhance the delivery of pharmaceuticals to target tissues. Ultrasound has been shown to facilitate the delivery of drugs across the skin, promote gene therapy to specific tissues, deliver chemotherapeutic drugs into tumours and deliver thrombolytic drugs into blood clots. In addition, ultrasound has also been shown to facilitate the healing of wounds and bone fractures.

Campus Physical Therapy Center

References

Therapeutic Ultrasound in Soft Tissue Lession, C.A. Speed. Rheumatology 2001;40:1331-1336

A Review of Therapeutic Ultrasound, Robertson V, Baker K, Physical Therapy 2001;81-7,1339-1350

The Gym

campus physical therapyCampus Physical Therapy Center is a 1500 square- foot modern facility. This allows us provide private individual treatments as well as our specialist functional programs and sport specific rehabilitation within our therapeutic gymnasium.

With over 600sq ft our therapeutic gymnasium offer a variaty of equipments to treat you such us isokinetic equipment including bicycles, treadmill, stepper, table mats; functional apparatus such as physioballs, foam rollers, balance boards/cushions; and Progressive Resistive Exercises such Nautilus and Pulleys Systems.