Re: Beyond Chiropractors

[Tivers@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/12/00 6:51:34 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
kathy_mayeda@atce.com writes:

<< Anyway, forgive me if you have already talked about it
 someplace, but do you ever use ultrasound therapeutically?
 Is this the same thing as TENS?  Is there a reference
 source I can read to learn more about it?>

I've used ultrasound in several ways--most often to generate "deep heat" in 
sore muscles. You can also melt away bone spurs and splints with it, but you 
have to be very careful trying that. Finally, you can use it to drive topical 
treatments into the skin--sonophoresis. Never done that, but have read the 
literature on it.

TENS is Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. Used most often to 
deaden the sensitivity of pain-conducting nerves. TENS also has an 
anti-inflammatory effect, locally. Don't ask me why. We use TENS most often 
to treat bowed tendons by contracting the deep and superficial flexor muscles 
in the forelegs--the TENS will generate actual contractions of these smaller 
muscles and is cheaper by half than and EMS machine.  
 
 >What do you do when you have a large muscle spasm in 
 the gluteals?  I've learned a few "voo-doo, Rev. Jones
 bone rattling" therapies, but now that I hopefully
 got your attention, maybe you could feed my mind a little
 more constructively.>

Ultrasound will work to calm the muscle down, as will deep massage--a Sears 
reciprocal sander with sheepskin on the head is the best mode for that. Once 
calmed, the muscle can be treated with TENS or EMS to prevent and relieve 
inflammation. All the while, of course, you're seeking the cause.

 
 Kathy >>

ti