Ultrasound

What is ultrasound and how can it be useful for athlete populations?

What is ultrasound?

I'm sure most of us think of black-and-white pictures of babies when we think of ultrasound. However, ultrasound can also be used as a therapeutic modality to help aid in muscle recovery. This use of ultrasound does not produce pictures, but rather heats up the tissues being targeted in order to improve blood flow and, in turn, facilitate healing. Ultrasound is effective because it is able to reach deeper tissues that a heat pack or something similar may not be able to reach.

How is ultrasound useful to athletes?

Although ultrasound is not proven to be effective in preventing muscle soreness, it does have many other benefits in tissue healing (Pournot et al., 2016). Ultrasound is especially effective in treating tendinitis and bursitis which is common in the athletic population, especially due to overtraining. Ultrasound is most effective in treating these types of chronic injuries, but, it can also be used to treat contusions and is even shown to help with non-healing bone fractures (Miller et al., 2012). The deep penetration of heat is what makes ultrasound effective in treating these various types of injuries.

References

Barnett, A. (2006). Using Recovery Modalities between Training Sessions in Elite Athletes: Does it Help? 36(9), 781–796. .........https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200636090-00005

Lazar, D. A., Curra, F. P., Mohr, B., McNutt, L. D., Kliot, M., & Mourad, P. D. (2001). Acceleration of Recovery After Injury to the ..........Peripheral Nervous System Using Ultrasound and Other Therapeutic Modalities. 12(2), 353–357. ..........https://doi.org/10.1016/S1042-3680(18)30060-3

Miller, D. L., Smith, N. B., Bailey, M. R., Czarnota, G. J., Hynynen, K., & Makin, I. R. S. (2012). Overview of Therapeutic Ultrasound ..........Applications and Safety Considerations. 31(4), 623–634. https://doi.org/10.7863/jum.2012.31.4.623

Pournot, H., Tindel, J., Testa, R., Mathevon, L., & Lapole, T. (2016). The acute effect of local vibration as a recovery modality from ..........exercise-induced increased muscle stiffness. 15(1), 142–147.