If you are currently recovering from a back injury, you may be seeing a chiropractor as an adjunct treatment along with your physical therapy and doctor's treatment plan. While investigating more ways to help speed up your recovery, you may have heard about ultrasound therapy and wonder how it may be able to help you. If so, below are a couple of the benefits to having the treatment performed by your chiropractor.

1.  Delivers Heat Deeper than a Heating Pad

After a back injury, your muscles are probably constantly tight and sore, which can lead you to use a heating pad to try to help relieve the tension. However, since a pad is applied to your skin, a lot of the heat is lost as it radiates on the surface. Also, the heat from the pad only penetrates the upper fibers of the muscles, leaving the deep tissue untreated.

However, when an ultrasound is used on your muscles, the vibrations and heat radiate deep within the muscle fibers. As this heat penetrates the lower layers of the muscles, more of the fibers are able to relax. This increased relaxation of the muscle fibers then helps to relieve more tension and alleviate the painful muscle spasms you may experience when you try to move too much.

2.  Loosens the Muscles for More Effective Adjustments

Another benefit of using ultrasound therapy on your back muscles after an injury is seen when it is used in conjunction with your chiropractic treatments. Right now when you have an adjustment, the muscles are most likely tight. While the adjustments can be made, the full range of motion of your spine is reduced because the muscles are so tense.

However, if your muscles are treated beforehand, it may help make the chiropractic adjustment more effective. This is because the ultrasound reaches deep into the muscles, helping the fibers closest to your spine loosen up.

Once the deep muscle tissues are no longer pushing tightly against your backbone, they let go of their tight hold on your vertebrae. As a result, when your chiropractor goes to manipulate your spine, they can more easily move and control it so that they can bring it back into alignment.

After considering the benefits of ultrasound chiropractic therapy, you may decide you would like to learn more about it. If so, speak with your chiropractor about incorporating ultrasound therapy with your adjustments.