Modalities are special tools that do not replace the one-on-one treatments rendered by physical therapists. Used diligently, however, they can be great adjuncts to the care we provide to make your recovery better and faster. The following modalities are available at Pro-Health:
CLASS 4 COLD LASER
Safe, fast and painless laser treatments can greatly help the healing process.According to the FDA standards, therapeutic low-level lasers can help patients with four main objectives:
- Chronic or acute pain relief
- Inflammation reduction
- Increased blood flow
- Accelerated healing
Cold laser therapy is very effective treatment modalities because it directly helps injured or damaged cells to regenerate. This non-invasive treatment uses red and near-infrared light to stimulate the cell membrane. The laser light triggers a cellular reaction which supports and stimulates the normal healing process of our cells enabling tissues to repair and recover faster.
Pro-Health uses the EVOlaser Class-4 Therapy Laser System. “The EVOlaser therapeutic device is at the cutting edge of technology, designed […] for use in therapy for muscular & skeletal pathologies, osteoarticular diseases, edemas, soft tissue injuries and laser acupuncture.” (coldlasers.org)
ELECTRICAL SIMULATION
Using the right kind of Electrical Stimulation at the right time during your rehabilitation can make a big difference in your recovery.
Pro-Health offers a wide array of state-of-the-art stimulators to ensure that the specific desired therapeutic effect can be achieved at every session. Depending on your specific injury and your stage of healing, your therapist can choose to use:
TENS
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulators generate a gentle electric current to help manage pain. The sensation can range from a gentle vibration to a strong pulse and can be adjusted according to every patient’s preference.
IFC
Interferential Current is a deeper form of stimulation that helps to alleviate pain but which also offers the benefit of having anti-inflammatory effects. It can be set to generate a gentle vibration or a strong, pulsing sensation.
H-Wave
H-Wave achieves strong but comfortable muscle contractions to help circulation and enhance fluid shifts. With its muscle-pumping effect, it can help reduce swelling and inflammation and alleviate muscle spasms. Set on more constant parameters (in opposition to pumping), it will provide an effective analgesic effect.
EMS
Electrical Muscle Stimulators emit impulses that mimic the nerve activation coming from our own nervous system and can, thus, cause a muscle contraction. It can be used to re-educate muscles after surgery or strengthen muscles after periods of inactivity or injury. It can also be used to recruit selective portions within a given muscle or to coordinate the work of two muscles in order to retrain more effective movement.
PENS
Patterned Electrical Neuromuscular Stimulation is able to replicate specific muscle and nerve firing patterns, based on EMG research. With such as specificity of neuro-muscular retraining, PENS is a valuable tool to retrain injured muscles and an unsurpassed device to help healthy muscles perform even better. Pro-Health is one of only a handful of clinics to have this device for clinical use. It is used by pro sports teams such as the LA Lakers and the LA Kings, as well as many US Olympic teams.
EMG Biofeedback
An electromyographic (EMG) machine reads the electrical activity within a muscle. Rather than emitting an electrical impulse like most other stimulators, it will beep whenever a muscle is actively contracted. The machine makes louder and faster sounds proportional to the strength and speed of muscle activation, which helps gain feedback or awareness of proper muscle contraction. Thus, it helps to retrain appropriate muscle contraction after injury or when sensation is altered.
SmartWave
SmartWave is a high-voltage pulsed galvanic stimulator that offers analgesic benefits, but which we use primarily with conductive socks or gloves to assist with promoting circulation in extremities.
Iontophoresis
Iontophoresis is the use of electrical current to deliver medicine or other chemicals through the skin. It allows localized delivery of a healing agent without requiring an injection and reaching deeper than topical ointments. We use iontophoresis to administer an anti-inflammatory steroid (dexamethasone sodium phosphate, with an order from your M.D.) or acetic acid to minimize calcium deposits in soft-tissues (very helpful for treating calcified bursitis/tendonitis or hardened scar tissue).
Spinal Traction and Decompression
Back and neck traction allows us to decompress or unload the spinal joints. In doing so, it can provide effective pain relief; improve disc space; relieve pressure on spinal nerves and sensitive soft-tissues; as well as stretch paraspinal muscles and ligaments. This all amounts to better spine health, decreased back and neck pain, and overall better movement.
Pneumatic lumbar or cervical traction devices create a distractive force to relieve pressure on the spine at the neck or low back area. It can be very effective to decrease pain, inflammation, and spasms associated with herniated or bulging discs; pain and headaches from muscle tension; and extremity pain or numbness stemming from pinched nerves.
Other Modalities Available At Pro-Health
Therapeutic Ultrasound creates high-frequency sound waves that cause a vibration at the cellular level and can be set to cause heat or not, as indicated by your condition and stage of healing. Depending on the parameters selected by the therapist, ultrasound can help reduce pain, promote circulation, increase the extensibility of collagen tissues, reduce muscle spasms, and decrease chronic inflammation.
Phonophoresis uses ultrasound to help medicinal agents to penetrate the skin. We can use phonophoresis to locally administer an anti-inflammatory steroid (dexamethasone sodium phosphate), with an order from your physician.
Pulsed Shortwave Diathermy uses electromagnetic waves to create a deep, penetrating heating effect that can be mild when treating acute injuries or quite intense to target chronic conditions. Diathermy is helpful to reduce pain and inflammation in acute recovery and arthritic conditions and is very effective in decreasing joint stiffness, relieving muscle spasms, and increasing local blood flow. It can also be set to generate vigorous heating effects to soften scar tissue and improve the extensibility of collagen tissues.
Taping techniques can be used to support or immobilize an injured muscle or joint; to facilitate selective muscle recruitment; to provide biofeedback to re-educate proper movement or posture; to assist lymphatic drainage; to reduce acute swelling and bruising (hematoma); and to reduce pain by alleviating muscle tension and spasms. Our therapists use — and can teach you how to use — several kinds of tape and various taping techniques including:
- Kenisiotaping: A lightweight stretchy tape that allows movement, it is well-suited to enhance athletic performance. Used in a weave pattern, it can gently lift the surface layers of the skin to help lymph and blood circulation.
- McConnell taping: A more restrictive tape, it is most commonly used to treat knee tracking dysfunctions (patellofemoral syndrome) or to stabilize hypermobile joints (such as with shoulder instability).
- Athletic taping: Using more rigid or rather restrictive tapes, injured joints can be immobilized to provide anatomical rest during acute stages of healing. Or, joints can be supported and protected when a still-inured joint is used in daily activities or when resuming sports.
