There are different kinds of techniques, tools, and methods to cope with pain, restore mobility and flexibility of muscles, and to manage different conditions of the musculoskeletal system. When you visit a physiotherapist, he can recommend a type of physiotherapy modalities, along with stretching, mobilization, and targeted exercises.

Some types of those methods use a variety of specialized devices. These devices deliver customized levels of electric stimulation to your body’s muscles, nerves, tendons, and tissues to treat your injuries and to boost up your body’s healing process.

And for today’s post, we will feature various types of physiotherapy modalities at Evergreen Rehab and Wellness. Let’s discover how each type works and its key benefits.

6 Types of Physiotherapy Modalities and Their  Benefits

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is the method to reduce pain using a mild electric current. A TENS machine involves a battery and sticky pads known as electrodes. The machine works when the therapist attaches the sticky pads to the skin of the person while the machine is switched on. The small electrical impulses are transferred to the patient’s affected area of the body. Then, it feels like a tingling sensation.

The electrical impulses reduce the pain signals and provide relief to the patient and relax muscles. The electrical impulses also promote the production of endorphins, which are known as the natural painkillers of the body.

Through TENS, a person can reduce his pain and muscle spasms caused due to arthritis, pelvic pain, knee pain, neck pain, back pain, sports injuries.

According to research, it is among the selected electrical therapies together with Interferential Current that is effective in treating chronic low back pain.

Therapeutic Ultrasound

Therapeutic ultrasound is one of the physiotherapy methods to provide deep heating to soft tissues of the body, such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.

Some people confuse therapeutic ultrasound with diagnostic ultrasound, which is used to see the inside of the body.

Generally, orthopedics injuries are treated by therapeutic ultrasound such as tendonitis, bursitis, muscle strains and tears, sprains and ligament injuries, frozen shoulder, joint contracture, or tightness.

The physiotherapist can also use therapeutic ultrasound for neck pain, low back pain, knee meniscus tears, rotator cuff tears, or ankle sprains. In short, therapeutic ultrasound can be used for any soft tissue injury in the body.

Interferential Current Therapy

Interferential current therapy involves a mild electrical current to reduce swelling, relieve pain, and stimulate the muscle. With this treatment, it can boost up the healing process of the body, relieve muscle spasms, and pelvic floor muscles.

It increases the blood flow in the body, which results in reducing swelling and pain relief. It also reduces muscle spasm and can help in treating muscle weakness and incontinence.

Application of this method is ideal for extreme weakness when the person can’t generate a muscle contraction. It is also used to treat stress incontinence, in which electrodes are placed over the lower abdomen and inner thigh to produce a muscle contraction of the pelvic floor muscles.

Electroacupuncture

Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese treatment method for healing and pain relief in the body. Electroacupuncture is a modified method that uses two needles that are inserted in the affected area of the body, and a mild current is passed through it for treatment. The current is more beneficial to accounts than ancient needle twirling and hand manipulation methods.

Electroacupuncture can help to treat a range of health issues such as arthritis, stress, pain, tinnitus, and addiction.

Discover more about electroacupuncture.

Shockwave therapy

Shockwave therapy is a series of non-invasive treatments that involve the production of a mild electrical current to the affected area of the body. It is a new method but is becoming common in physiotherapy and it is useful to treat many musculoskeletal issues.

Shockwave therapy has a great effectiveness ratio and is a non-invasive method for your back pain, shoulder, knee, and elbow. The method doesn’t involve anesthesia or any kind of drug and has limited side effects. You can find its application in orthopedics, rehabilitation, and sport medicine fields.

Many research and studies have shown that shockwave therapy has a positive effect on musculoskeletal pain. You may feel some soreness after the treatment. But don’t use anti-inflammatory medications because it’s the natural process after the treatment, and medications can slow down the results.

Read more about what researches say about shockwave therapy.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation

Electrical muscle stimulation or E-stim involves electrical pulses on the surface of the body, which mimics the actions coming from neurons and target muscles or nerves. It helps to reduce pain and to promote the healing process of injured muscles.

E-stim is beneficial for many health issues such as back pain, fibromyalgia, joint pain, muscle conditioning, arthritis, dysphagia, nerve inflammation, poor muscle strength, spinal cord injury, stroke, urinary incontinence, and surgery recovery. Also, this is ideal for the prevention of muscle atrophy since it promotes muscle contraction.

In Summary: Physiotherapy Modalities’ Key Benefits

In summary below are the main benefits of those modalities.

Non-invasive Treatment

The types of treatment are all safe and it’s a powerful alternative for treating chronic pain. Simply, a drug-free pain approach to pain management.

Effective in treating musculoskeletal pain

Some of the types of those physiotherapy modalities are ideal in treating musculoskeletal pain especially the use of shockwave therapy. Shockwave therapy also helps in increasing blood flow to the injured area which promotes the healing process. It is ideal for treating the following conditions: back pain, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, shoulder pain, and injuries and knee pain

It’s Safe

Aside from being non-invasive, you can observe that physiotherapy modalities are safe and there are minimal to no side effects. Among the commonly reported side effects is the use of adhesive, which can trigger allergies or rash, but this is minimal. But, overall, it’s a pain-free treatment.

Reducing nerve pain

A type of those modalities is TENS uses to interfere with the pain signals which helps in reducing nerve pain.

Muscle Atrophy Prevention

Unused muscles resulting from injury, illness, or nerve damage can lead to muscle atrophy. The sad thing is that it can have a huge impact on the quality of life. But, the good thing is that there’s an electrotherapy treatment which is electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) that can prevent muscle atrophy. It helps in muscle contraction. On the other hand, TENS helps in reducing the pain caused by muscle atrophy.

Improve blood flow

With electrotherapy, it can help to improve blood circulation which is essential for wound repair. By having a healthy circulation, it can provide the right amount of nutrients to the cell to start the tissue repair. Also, it supports the removal of toxins within the body. And, a healthier body and blood circulation, can help in the healing and repair process of your wounds.

Got an Injury or in a Recent Motor Vehicle Accident and Need Help in Your Recovery?

If you’ve got a recent injury or in a motor vehicle accident and need help with recovery, at Evergreen Rehab and Wellness, we have various physiotherapy modalities that can help you. Also, if you are looking for ways on how to relieve your musculoskeletal pain, you can count on us.

Our goal is to empower you to live a healthy, natural, and pain-free life. And, we have various types of treatment that can help your condition – especially the musculoskeletal pain.

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Evergreen is Everywhere for Everyone – Let’s Help You Achieve Your Health and Wellness Goals

At Evergreen Rehab & Wellness – Coquitlam, we have Physiotherapists that will help you achieve your health and wellness goals.

We don’t only have Physiotherapists in Coquitlam, we also have Physiotherapists in Langley that are always ready to provide patients in these areas with custom and high-quality care.