Benefits of Therapy Modalites
Ultrasound-when used in a continuous fashion, this can heat up deep tissues and improve metabolism and promote circulation through injured tissue. When used in a pulsed fashion, ultrasound can promote increased elasticity and allow for stretching and regaining, range of motion.
Electricity-depending upon the exact form of usage, electricity can reduce edema, decrease inflammation, block pain signals (TENS), improve muscle strength, and reduce muscle spasm.
Moist heat and ice-these are good modalities for reducing muscle spasm or pain temporarily so that the therapist can work on the painful part of the body and help the patient to make better progress.
Manual therapy-this includes many variations of massage, stretching techniques, and mobilization techniques to regain motion and flexibility in joints of the spine and the extremities.
Traction-this can be done manually or mechanically and is a modality, for stretching ligaments, as well as separating vertebrae to relieve pressure on nerves, discs, and joints.
Therapeutic Exercise promotes fitness despite pain. Different forms of exercise promote a variety of benefits:
- Flexibility - stretching exercises promote increased motion and allow for better function before "pain signals" are triggered. In many chronic pain conditions, inactivity results in decreased flexibility, which, in turn, becomes its own source of pain. Regaining flexibility in and of itself may result in a decrease in symptoms of pain.
- Strengthening - Strengthening muscles can "unload" injured structures. For example, strengthening muscles surrounding an arthritic joint reduces the stresses on the joint. Although the joint may remain arthritic, strengthening muscles surrounding the joint will increase stability, reduce abnormal joint motion, and result in decreased pain. Similarly, people who are stronger are less likely to experience pain from doing the same activity than are people whose muscles are "straining" to complete the task.
- Endurance - Exercises, which promote aerobic metabolism and increase the heart rate are beneficial, possibly because they promote better circulation through injured tissues, which can help to promote healing. In addition, it has been shown that aerobic exercise increases the body's level of endorphins, (a chemical which the body produces naturally) which relieves pain. This is probably the reason for "the runner's high" in marathon runners. People who exercise aerobically have less depression and anxiety, uniformly report less pain despite no apparent change in their condition, and function at a much higher level in their daily lives.