Electrical Muscle Stimulation
When dealing with acute, subacute and chronic pain, electrical stimulation is not the first solution that comes to mind for many sufferers. Instead, it is very common for people to ignore reoccurring back, neck, and joint discomfort for years and temporarily alleviate their symptoms with medications without seeing the chiropractor.
Studies of analgesic medications reveal that these drugs do lessen the pain but they do not treat the source of the problem. Over time as the body develops a tolerance to painkillers higher doses are required for relief.
Electric muscle stimulation mimics the body’s nervous system, by sending safe, low frequency electrical pulses to the affected area, causing the muscle to contract and increasing temperature and blood circulation. The same natural healing process of the body to repair injuries works with EMS to relieve other common nervous system disorders, including constant headaches, numbness of limbs, and back pain.
By utilizing and encouraging the body’s natural healing mechanisms , EMS and similar therapies can drastically reduce the dependence on medications and unnecessary surgeries and resolve the symptoms of underlying causes much quicker.
What does EMS feel like? A gentle tingling that develops into a massage like sensation as the frequency is increased. The therapy normally lasts anywhere from 10-15 minutes, often with the use of hot or cold compresses depending on the type of pain. Patients should always feel relaxed and comfortable. EMS is intended to help, not hurt.
Therapeutic Ultrasound
Therapeutic ultrasound is a physiotherapy that is utilized to treat injuries related to joints, muscle spasms, and other soft tissues. While it shares the same name as Diagnostic Ultrasound, this is not utilized to screen internally into the body.
Therapeutic ultrasound stimulates the tissue beneath the surface of the skin with high frequency sound waves that are not audible to the human ear. It is used for three primary benefits: (1) speed the healing process with increased blood flow to the treated area, (2) decreases pain with the reduction of inflammation and swelling, and (3) soften and break down adhesions and scar tissue.
There is also a deep heating effect that helps to relax the muscles and ligament structures. This heat, combined with the other effects of ultrasound, help improve the healing process at the basic cellular level.