I’m an electronic engineer and recently came across an advertisement on the web for an at-home Ultrasound machine.
From an engineering viewpoint, this is totally feasible. Ultrasound machines are now old technology, they are also “low-tech”. All of which means that I see no reason why they should not be manufactured relatively cheaply in quantity.
Any of you medical types know whether this machine is any good?
Note: I cannot afford to keep going to physio.
i asked my friend who is a Physio the same thing, he said “yeah you can jsut stick those anywhere, that is why i was in school for 7 years”. I never laughed so hard with him…
needless to say i did not buy.
t~
Ultrasound therapy has been around a long time but it’s still the gold standard by which other treatment modalities are compared.
New medical ultrasound machines can still be quite expensive because they have added a lot of bells & whistle newer electronics. I don’t know anything about this particular home version you mention.
You could probably find an older working unit on ebay.
I forgot to include the link to the machine. it is here
http://www.aidmytendon.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.ultrasound
and, yes, I know what a physio would say. They also charge you for applying an ice pack!
Sorry,but it is true.
A friend of mine in the medical field said ultrasound is for physio’s when they don’t know how to fix the problem, and they hope it will go away, kind of like icing it or taking an aspirin.
You want to avoid putting the ultrasound on joints (not sure why but that is what he said).
So I have archilles tendonitis and I know the treatment that I would get at a Physio: stop running local friction massage ultrasound ice stretching exercises
(Been ther before)
Seems to me that they know what the problem is here and use ultrasound anyway. So, is that because there is nothing else to do?
Google-- Achilles and Eccentric exercise.
I got an Achilles tendonitis/tear from Kona-Xterra double and saw my ART PT today. He always ultrasounds me for just about every issue other than the standard ART stuff. Can’t really tell how well it works (since I haven’t done a controled experiment 
but I trust the guy who does it…he believes that cold gets 1/4" below the skin, laser therapy can penetrate 1/2’ and ultrasound up to 3/4" into the body…he mentioned the home device today and said he thought it should be useful, just not as powerful as the one he uses and would require more application time, which the charts on that web site bear out. I might be a buyer…will be back to him tomorrow and see what he says when I ask him a pointed question on me buying one.
I also have tried the battery-operated home electro stim for other things. My PT lent me one, but he has never used one on me. I don’t think they do much, and in fact the unit’s instructions says they are only for “alleviating pain”, but I am sure they are a great revenue enhancer for a chiro…
Hi Reggiedog,
Thankyou for that very helpful post. Sounds like you have a really nice PT there. I’d be interested in any other comments he has on this device - as I am REALLY thinking about it.
Hi reggiedog,
I have done some looking into this machine and have come up with the following. Frequency 1Mhz - good because this frequency has the deepest penetration. BUT power output is only 0.52Watts/sq cm peak and 0.25 Watt/sq cm average.
One physio has told a friend of mine that she normally uses 0.8 to 2.0 Watts for chronic injuries.
You mentioned that your physio thought that a home unit may be of some use but that you would need to apply for longer due to lower power and that you would be talking to him again. Did you get any more feedback from your physio?
thanks for the reminder to reply:
I had a good talk with my PT about it and he was thinking that one would have to use it for ~30 mins to have the same effect as the 8 minutes his unit takes. That starts to sound less practical for me as I really don’t have a 1/2 hour at one time any day…maybe once a week, but that would be a stretch. So it would appear to be less practical.
The other thing he mentioned is that the theory has shifted as to what ultrasound actually does, with people now thinking that it is a “pro-inflamatory” device (like heat, to increase fluid in the affected area) instead of an anti-inflammatory to drive (bad) fluid out of the area…I guess both theories can help improve circulation and healing. I get skeptical when theories change so dramatically.
While I like my ART/PT very much and he does use the ultrasound liberally, I can’t point to the ultrasound as providing a specific benefit.
Net-Net - the home unit does not look attractive to me.
I have been doing the eccentric heel lowering work as found in an article via Google (“eccentric Achilles”) which does seem to help. At least it is a specific treatment I can give myself and focus on, which usually is 90% of the cure.
Thanks reggiedog,
Your input is much appreciated. Thank you for taking the time and trouble.
I will do some more investigation.
I forgot to include the link to the machine. it is here
http://www.aidmytendon.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.ultrasound
and, yes, I know what a physio would say. They also charge you for applying an ice pack!
Sorry,but it is true.
Rehashing an old post here but as I have been suffering from achilles/heel pain for the past 6 weeks I have been investigating other home treatment modalities and am considering purchasing a home ultrasound unit like the one you mentioned above. Did you ever follow through on buying this? Does anyone else have any opinions/recommendations on other home ultrasound units?
I have one and it works. When i have calf issues, i will use it daily. Paid around $60 for mine.
go to http://www.ezultrasound.com/
My ex actually owns the site, but that stuff really does work. They are coming out with new technology where you wear a patch (you can even wear it overnight) and it delivers the same ultrasound therapy from your physio, but you can get the treatments when you are sleeping so you never really waste time.
downside to it all is the upfront cost, but after that it makes up for it quickly
I was being treated for a foot issue several years ago.
They left me alone with the stim / ultra sound unit and said I could adjust the intensity to my comfort level.
Of course I though the more the better.
I was zapping myself real good and was actually working up a sweat when the tech walked back and
and asked “what the hell are you doing?”
They never left me alone again!
Hi reggiedog,
I have done some looking into this machine and have come up with the following. Frequency 1Mhz - good because this frequency has the deepest penetration. BUT power output is only 0.52Watts/sq cm peak and 0.25 Watt/sq cm average.
One physio has told a friend of mine that she normally uses 0.8 to 2.0 Watts for chronic injuries.
You mentioned that your physio thought that a home unit may be of some use but that you would need to apply for longer due to lower power and that you would be talking to him again. Did you get any more feedback from your physio?
You mention chronic injury. If you have been seeing a PT for a chronic injury and it hasn’t helped, it is time to see someone else. I would seriously suggest you look into some ART. A few sessions and I am back to being great. Plus they will find the exact area of weakness. For me my tendon hurt but it was the calf that was the issue.
If you buy a machine and treat the wrong area then the problem really won’t go away will it.
therapeutic ultrasound is simply a deep heat modality. Noting more. The units are low power and relatively inexpensive. Good to use before deep tissue massage, stretching, etc. I suppose. Minimal harm. Diagnostic ultrasounds are much higher power and cost (my first one was almost 50K). With those cheap units, warm/moist heat would probably do the same thing.
Look into ASTYM as well. Similar to ART, it addresses the symptoms but more importantly addresses and corrects the problem. The only down side is that it could hurt like hell and could bruise you.
Once the problem is found I here that Gastron can also be quite good. The big issue is finding what the problem truly is.