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San Leandro Chiropractor

Ultrasound Therapy and Chiropractic Rehabilitation

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ULTRASOUND When people hear the word “ultrasound” the first thing that comes to mind is the ultrasound from the OB-GYN where you can view a 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional image of what’s inside your tummy. But, this therapy is not this type of ultrasound as it is a therapeutic procedure that uses sound waves in treating injuries such as with soft tissues, muscles or joints.

The sound waves would vibrate at a frequency that is higher than the range that human ears could hear and it provides a mechanical vibration that provides a micro-massage.  I can either be a thermal or non thermal application at frequencies ranging from 0.72 MHz to 3 MHz.

Ultrasound therapy had been used as a treatment for years for musculoskeletal injuries as it helps in rapidly healing the injured tissue as well as decreasing the pain. However, it is underutilized despite its great potential and this is because of a few factors including the lack of education for therapists to use this treatment. The technique in using this treatment is very specific and some therapists are reluctant as they have been disappointed with previous outcomes which may have been a result of their insufficient training regarding ultrasound therapy.

Therapists must understand how this treatment works in order to get the desired outcome. The potential for success is increased as you combine the knowledge, correct technique and pathology of injury. Things that should be considered by the therapists to ensure a maximum effect for patients are the factors that would affect the absorption of the muscles, hemoglobin and fat, the physiology as well as the delivery process and contraindications for this treatment.

The basic benefits of the ultrasound therapy includes an increased in the elasticity of the collagen found in joint capsules, tendons and scar tissues; an increase in the motor as well as the sensory nerve conduction that helps in reducing the pain; the increase in blood flow; the reduction of muscle spasm from an altered contractile activity of the skeletal muscle; and the muscle spasm reduction through the reduction of the activity of the muscle spindle.

US therapy is just one of the treatments that must be considered in treating musculoskeletal injuries. Other treatments to be considered are electromagnetic radiation, hot packs, electrical stimulation, massage, cryotherapy, heat therapy, Erchonia Cold Laser PL 5000 and exercise. The choice really depends on the therapist and with the type of injury and the location of the injury as well as the condition of the patient.

There certain contraindications. If the patient has these medical conditions then this treatment must be avoided. Medical conditions include malignancy, pregnancy, myositis ossificans, circulatory insufficiency, acute infection, sepsis (severe) infection. Also, if the injury is situated over the heart, spine, eyes, testes, growing bones, carotid sinuses, epiphyseal plates, cervical stellate ganglion, pacemaker or vagus nerve then ultrasound therapy must also be avoided.

Precautions must also be observed for hypersensitivity to the treatment, area of the tendon repair, cemented prosthesis, or of reduced in circulation and with the diminished sense of pain and change in temperature or the lack of it. This type of therapy is available in our office for rehabilitation of our injured patients.

Question: Have you ever experienced ultrasound therapy while rehabilitating your injury?

Electric Stimulation and Chiropractic Rehabilitation

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ELECTRIC STIM1Electric stimulation rehabilitation or electrotherapy had been discovered way back in 400 BC with the help of a torpedo fish that produces an electric shock reaching up to 150 volts. People used to take these fish from streams and they place them on the body’s painful area and the electricity produced from the fish controlled the pain.

It was when the gate control theory of pain in 1965 that reintroduced electric stimulation rehabilitation after it had lost the interest of many skeptics in the nineteenth century. The theory suggests that when the large nerve fibers activity increases, it tends to close the gate blocking information or signals of pain to the brain.

Electric stimulation rehabilitation is a form of therapy that introduces electricity to stimulate the muscles and treat the pain & spasms. This type of therapy can be administered to the patient by a professional or you can purchase a home kit and use it at home.

There are three types of the electrical stimulation rehabilitation and they are the general electric therapy, muscular electric therapy and the transcutanous electrical nerve stimulation otherwise known as TENS. The general electric therapy relieves the pain and also heals wounds while the muscular electrical therapy helps in strengthening the muscles by reducing the spasms, while the TENS is used for treating chronic types of pain.

Electric stimulation rehabilitation has several applications. It is used to manage pain either acute or chronic. TENS is most successful in the control of the postoperative incision pain especially if it’s on a small area and self limiting with regards to time, severity and course.

IFC or interference current is another form of the electric stimulation rehabilitation treatment used for pain control. Some clinicians believe that this is more effective in treating muscle pain compared to TENS.

Electrotherapy is also applied to reduce edema of various types. Edema can be a result of trauma that disrupts the blood vessels and the electrical stimulation with voluntary muscle pump activity is effective. Other than this approach, sensory level stimulation is also used but this does not contract the muscles.

Electric stimulation also improves circulation through the neuromuscular electrical stimulation or NMES. It is most effective at a frequency of just 20 to 30 pps with a 10 to 30% contraction at a maximum of 30 minutes of treatment at a time.

Electric stimulation is also applied for a speedier wound healing.

This type of treatment has contraindications. It should not be placed peripherally to the heart or when the patient has a pacemaker. It shouldn’t be placed near the phrenic nerve and must not be used in the presence of malignancy.

If a recently sutured tendon or nerve is present, a superficial metallic implant, pregnancy during the first trimester and active bleeding are experienced by the patient then this type of treatment must also be avoided.

There are several electric stimulators available such as the Z-Stim IF 150 and the H-Wave electric stimulator. The Z-Stim IF 150 produces TRUE interferential therapy by its two channels with 4 pad output. It is used to stimulate the nerves and muscles for edema, acute pain and for rehabilitation of muscles. The H-Wave is an ultra low frequency electric stimulator that helps in pain control and functional restoration. It has a 3-channel and 2-channel models. The 3-channel model is used in clinics while the 2-channel is a home therapy model. Both of these models are available for rehabilitation of our patients.

Question: Have you ever experienced electrical stimulation therapy while rehabilitating your injury?

Questions/Answers #1-#5

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#1 Falling asleep on arm numbness?QUESTIONS ANSWERS2

Lately I have been waking up just about every night with a tingling, numb arm because I have been falling asleep on it. I figure it becomes like this because the circulation is cut off. Can this be potentially dangerous or hint toward something of greater significance and severity?

Answer:

Thank you for visiting and asking a question. Sleeping for a prolonged period of time on your arm will cut-off a blood circulation to your upper extremity. As a result you will experience symptoms such as: tingling, numbness and loss of sensation. Central Nervous System (CNS – Brain) has a unique defense mechanism. When it senses that your body is in danger it will alarm you automatically. In your particular case your CNS sent you a wake up message. This is not dangerous if it happens only because of the sleeping position. You have to try to change sleeping positions and patterns and the problem should go away on its own. However, if you have something like TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome) misaligned Clavicle and even Subluxated Vertebrae in the early stage, the symptoms you experience could be because of these conditions. Please have yourself checked by a local chiropractor when you get chance. Hope you feel better.

#2 My ankle is the size of a softball. Help?

Today at camp I rolled my ankle pretty bad in one of my games. It hurts so bad when I stand on it for even a second :/ What are some tips and pointers you can give me to ensure a speedy recovery? And have you ever sprained an ankle really bad before??? Your help will be greatly appreciated thank you!! 🙂

Answer:

Hello,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The severity of your injury depends on how badly you have hurt the soft tissue that supports your ankle. From you description it sounds like it is pretty severe due to the size of the swelling you have described. At this point and time I would use ice – 15 minutes on and 45 minutes off every waking hour. This will help to keep inflammation under control. Pick up your phone and make an appointment with your orthopedist or local chiropractor. Most likely your doctor of choice will have XRAYS done on your ankle and order MRI. XRAY will help to rull out a potential fracture and MRI will help to see how sever is the sprain/strain of your ankle. When diagnosis is established you should start rehabilitation process. Assuming you did not rapture your ligaments or tendons I would recommend the following – PT modalities such as Erchonia Cold Laser PL 5000, Ultrasound, and Electric Muscle Stimulation followed by deep tissue massage from CMT.

If your tendon or ligament has severe tear arthroscopic surgery is inevitable.

#3 I thought I pulled a muscle but….?

A couple of weeks ago I was at the gym as usual running on the treadmill, towards the end of my session, I started to feel a pain which is centered on my left buttock. Since then I have not been able to run at all as it is too painful & sometimes I can feel a discomfort just walking around normal or sitting.
At first I thought i pulled a muscle but since it’s now been two weeks… I think it is probably something else.
Thanks

Answer:

From your description it sounds that you have Sacroilliac Joint (SI) misalignment. When SI joint is subluxated symptoms will get worse upon walking. The reason why pain level goes up is because SI joint plays a very important and active biomechanical role in a walking process.

You can self diagnose if your SI joint is misaligned. Stay in front of the mirror with your eyes closed and march in one place for 5 seconds. When you are done marching open your eyes and look at your – 1) ear level, 2) shoulder level, 3) hip level. If one side of your hip is higher than the other your SI joint is misaligned. An even better way is to have someone else take a digital photo of yourself with your eyes closed. You will be able to see it for yourself how the shoulders and neck compensate for your SI joint problem. I would suggest to see your local D.C. and fix the problem in a couple of sessions.

#4 A Fourth Sprained Ankle?

I sprained my ankle twice in the past year. One time I slid on ice and sprained on side in late February and then in March sprained the other side as well as the first side. During June I wore an ankle stabilizer so I would not injure it again in PE but in July the pain came back and went away in a few days. Now I can’t really walk that great on it. I told my Mom but she says it’s fine. After injuring it in Feb and March I was prescribed physical therapy but it isn’t covered by insurance unless it follows a surgery. Does anyone think I may have injured it for a fourth time??
~~~Sorry for the long description.~~~

Answer:

Most likely you have a flare up of an old injury that has never been properly rehabilitated. Weak ligaments and tendons are very easy to injure again. Post traumatic soft tissue fibrosis makes your soft tissue less elastic. Since you do not have insurance I would suggest to find local CMT get some deep tissue done on your ankle. MRI of your ankle would tell the entire story, but it is very expensive. Also Cold Laser therapy by Erchonia PL 5000 and Ultrasound will be able to get some good results. Those modalities should be available in your local D.C. office.

#5 Should I still work if I have a herniated Disc in my back?

I just had an MRI done and found out not only do i have a disc protrusion in the lumbar section of my lower back, I also have chronic arthritis in my spine and degenerative disc disease. Is it good for me to continue at a job that I have to lift heavy objects repeatedly?

Answer:

Repetitive heavy lifting will accelerate the degeneration of your lumbar disc and osteoarthritis. As a result it will cause more pain and your ability to perform Activities of Daily Living. It would be great if you could find a different place of employment that does not require repetitive lifting. You can also ask your employer to provide a modified duty for you if such is available.

9 Reasons why Erchonia Cold Laser PL 5000 will enhance your Chiropractic experience.

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ERCHONIA PL5000Every living cell in a human body that makes up muscles, organs, bone, nerve cell and other tissues, functions at a specific frequency, or environment that it knows as its “normal”. Cells may change its frequency when exposed to emotional and physical stresses, chemical toxins, surgeries and even injuries. During this process cells stop send messages to neighboring cells and communication between brain and cells being interrupted. Erchonia is the only cold laser,  that will help to activate the communication between the brain and the damaged cells. Thus, flawless performance can be achieved.

Chiropractic care utilizes equipment that can help speed up the effectiveness of each rehabilitation session. One of these equipments is the Erchonia Cold PL 5000 Laser. This is a lightweight and low level laser that is used to inhibit or stimulate the cellular functions.  Depending on the case, one might need a laser therapy and the Erchonia Cold PL 5000 is the one gadget used for therapy by many chiropractors and other health care providers.  This unit provides a low frequency bandwidth that is specifically ranges in between of 630-640 nanometers and a power delivery of less than one (1) mili-watt is optimal for healing. Depending on the purpose of the treatment, a health care provider will program the laser to help to treat different musculoskeletal conditions:

  • 1. Pain relief– documented that pain is decreased up to 59%
  • 2. Increases Range of Motion– extremely important to prevent progressive, degenerative joint and disc disease
  • 3. Strengthens immune system by increasing lymphocyte activity
  • 4. Speeds up healing and recovery time by 30-50%
  • 5. Regenerates damaged nerve tissue
  • 6. Releases Myofascial restriction
  • 7. Restores Muscle strength
  • 8. Increases ATP production
  • 9. Decreases Edema & Inflammation

The Erchonia laser emits a visible coherent light that stimulates the body’s ability to produce ATP, which allows a natural healing of the body in decreased time. Through this process pain and inflammation decrease, the natural range of motion of the joints return and optimal function of cellular physiology occurs on a more permanent basis.

In one double blind study prepared for original FDA approval, it was documented that the Erchonia Laser decreased by an average of 59% while concomitantly increasing range of motion – both actively and passively.

Wound healing using the patented Erchonia Laser, compared to six other Lasers, was minimum of 6-14% faster in therapeutic results. Additional unique findings of the Erchonia Laser show proliferation of fibrobalsts and keratinocytes while increasing microcirculation of the skin. Peripheral neuropathies from injuries have been dramatically affected. This includes both intact neurological function as well as severed nerves. Wound healing acceleration has been demonstrated as well as scar tissue  diminishment using Erchonia Laser. In all, this is very powerful healing tool that when used correctly by the practitioner, can result in miraculous changes to increase the humanality of patients that may have otherwise been considered unassisteble.

Erchonia is the only company to receive FDA clearance for the use of  Theraputic Laser Application for injury and management of Peripheral-Central Nervous System. The use of  Erchonia laser is the perfect complement to chiropractic spinal adjustments for enabling the body to restore its natural state of balance and health. Join the wave of the future and tell us that you  want  to experience the benefits of the Erchonia lasers in your care.

Enjoy living a healthy life!

Question: What other therapeutic Cold Lasers have you experienced at Doctor’s office?