Instructions for Performing Ultrasound Therapy

Ultrasound therapy uses heat to treat soft tissue injuries. Performing ultrasound therapy begins with a wand or probe that gently touches a patient's skin. Both pulse and continuous ultrasound are effective, though in different ways, and treat different injuries.

Pulse and Continuous Ultrasound

• First, the therapist applies ultrasound with a wand or probe that touches a patient's skin, using ultrasound gel on the wand head to facilitate the transfer of ultrasonic waves. Therapeutic ultrasound is in the frequency range of 0.8 to 3.0 MHz.

  Both pulse and continuous ultrasound send high-frequency sound waves through a patient's body that will journey through tissue, be consumed by tendons and ligaments, and glance off skeletal bone.

  However, pulse and continuous ultrasound have different effects and treat varied injuries. A therapist will use pulse ultrasound to care for redness and swelling seen, for example, in tendinitis and bursitis. This type of ultrasound therapy transfers vibrations that activate cell membranes, causing faster repair.

  A therapist will use continuous ultrasound therapy to heal muscle spasms, pain and to ease tight muscles. Here, the transmitted sound waves generate irritation as they move through muscle fibers. This creates heat in the injured region. To cool it, the body then escalates blood circulation to the injured area, which ramps up the healing process.

When to End the Session

• If the ultrasound waves create too much heat, the patient will feel pain. The patient should immediately tell the therapist to end the treatment session.