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Understanding the Role of Acoustic Wave Therapy in Sports Injury Rehabilitation

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Acoustic Wave Therapy in Sports Injury

Whether you are an athlete or someone who suffers from chronic pain in your muscles or joints, Acoustic wave therapy (AWT), is a therapy used by professional athletes utilizes sound waves to help heal the injury.

Reduces Pain and Inflammation

Acoustic Wave Therapy is a non-invasive treatment that uses sound waves to stimulate the body’s natural healing process. It can reduce pain and increase mobility in patients with musculoskeletal disorders like sciatica or carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as tendons, ligaments, and bones like plantar fasciitis or calcifying tendonitis of the rotator cuff.

The vibrations caused by AWT break down calcifications and fat deposits in the body. It also helps to increase circulation, which speeds up the healing process. In addition, the sound waves emitted by AWT cause cavitation in the treated tissue, which produces new blood vessels. This provides an additional pathway for delivering oxygen-rich blood to the tissues while dispersing inflammatory mediators and eliminating metabolic wastes.

The acoustic waves also decrease the concentration of Substance P, a neurotransmitter responsible for relaying pain signals to the brain. By lowering the concentration of this substance, AWT significantly decreases pain and inflammation in the musculoskeletal system.

Increases Blood Flow

The acoustic waves emitted by the AWT machine stimulate the body’s soft tissue to initiate healing. These sound waves break up calcifications and increase blood circulation, which reduces inflammation and pain.

The sound waves also amplify signals that promote the growth and differentiation of stem cells at the site of injury. Stem cells help to heal the damaged tissue and encourage bone and epithelial cell health. They also disperse pain mediators and reduce inflammatory responses, which speeds up recovery time.

AWT can treat various sports injuries, including plantar fasciitis and tennis elbow. A physical medicine doctor often recommends this type of treatment.

AWT is the preferred preventative therapy for professional athletes and active individuals because it provides optimal blood flow response to help them recover faster from muscle strains and post-workout recovery. It is also used to treat chronic injuries and speed up recovery for patients undergoing surgery or other more invasive procedures.

Recruits Stem Cells

AWT activates the body’s natural repair system. Its waves reduce inflammation and promote the growth of new blood vessels, thereby increasing oxygen supply. It also disperses pain mediators and encourages stem cells to migrate to the injured area.

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that can become different types based on the signals they receive. They help to repair damaged tissues, and regenerate muscles, bone and epithelial tissue.

Acoustic wave therapy can stimulate the release of chemotactic factors that recruit symplastic mesenchymal stem cells (syMSCs) from the blood into the injury site, promoting meniscal regeneration. This results in a more fully integrated, functionally intact meniscus that heals with fewer symptoms.

Low-intensity acoustic wave therapy (AWT) is a safe and effective treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED).5 Unlike most other ED treatments that simply treat symptoms, AWT restores normal vascular function in patients with erectile problems. It does this by improving blood flow, reducing plaque, regenerating blood vessels, recruiting stem cells and displacing pain mediators.

Promotes Healing

Unlike laser treatments, which use light energy, AWT sound waves penetrate the tissue. These vibrations break up plaque buildup and stimulate the body’s healing process. This creates new blood vessels that increase oxygen supply and decrease inflammation.

AWT also increases cell renewal. This allows the damaged tissue to heal faster and improves muscle response. This is especially important for athletes and those who suffer from chronic pain caused by musculoskeletal injuries.

In addition to promoting blood flow, reducing inflammation and recruiting stem cells, AWT can also help disperse pain mediators. This helps the body to manage chronic pain symptoms better, allowing you to live a more active lifestyle.

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13 Benefits of sorrel and side effects

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Benefits of hyaluronic acid for acne

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Discover the benefits of hyaluronic acid for acne.

In most acne scars there is a loss of skin volume ( atrophy ), which gives the area where they form a depressed or “engraved” appearance.

This atrophy is the product of a  lack of hyaluronic acid and collagen in the dermis, the intermediate part of the skin, responsible for giving the turgidity, volume, and elasticity of healthy skin.

Methods of treatment

There are different  methods to treat atrophic scars, which we could classify into two different groups according to their speed of action:

· Immediate effect.  They are called fillers, biocompatible substances that can be injected into the skin to give volume to areas that have lost it.

Among them, those of hyaluronic acid, polylactic acid, or calcium hydroxyapatite stand out among others. Its turgid effect is immediate, filling cavities, furrows, and atrophic areas of the skin with very natural results. The duration of these materials is limited, so periodically (every  6 – 18 months ) it is common to practice a new session.

· Delayed effect.  It implies that they promote the synthesis of collagen and ground substance of the dermis. It is worth mentioning the fractional lasers  (ablative or non-ablative) and the intermediate and deep peels.

The main advantage of these methods is that their effect is permanent once the optimal point of improvement has been reached, which is not immediate but after practicing several sessions of the procedure.

Hyaluronic acid is indicated in the treatment of atrophic,  depressed, and ice-pick acne scars. There are different densities of hyaluronic acid, designed to treat different forms of atrophy or loss of volume.

For the treatment of moderate or ice pick acne scars, it is useful to use low and intermediate densities; and to recover a large volume in especially atrophic areas, it is possible to use higher densities to cover the maximum repertoire of defects.

The main advantages of using hyaluronic acid lie in its immediate action, its durability, its biocompatibility, and its minimal allergenic potential. This molecule can fill in atrophic scars, providing optimal volume immediately and in the short term, promoting collagen synthesis in the long run.

In this way, the irregularity on the surface of the skin is substantially reduced after the application of hyaluronic acid, improving the overall appearance of the skin in the treated area.

Another positive aspect of using hyaluronic acid is that it usually only requires a  single application session. Likewise, fillers are one of the best tolerated aesthetic procedures since they have a  minimal rate of adverse effects and the pain caused is minimal if a precise technique is followed. Slight erythema  (redness) that lasts 2-4 hours after the procedure is common and can be reduced with the application of cold compresses.

According to studies published by Halachmi et al, the satisfaction rate and results in patients with atrophic acne scars and ice pick treated with hyaluronic acid are excellent.

The only limiting aspect of hyaluronic acid fillers is their duration. This molecule is naturally degraded in the skin, its effect persisting for   6-18 months depending on the density of hyaluronic acid used and the indication for which it has been applied.

Specifically, for acne scars, the duration of hyaluronic acid is the maximum possible, since it is retained within the fibrosis that partitions the scars. It should be remembered that, in the long term, this molecule favors the synthesis of collagen, so that the perceptible effect is progressively more durable as different sessions are carried out.

FREQUENT QUESTIONS

What is the main indication of hyaluronic acid in acne scars?

Its main effect is to fill in depressed scars and regularize the appearance of the skin surface.

When is the effect of hyaluronic acid noticeable?

The effect of hyaluronic acid is immediate and noticeable at the end of its application. Over a week or so, the hyaluronic acid settles in the applied area and the surface where it has been applied progressively becomes even more regular.

How is hyaluronic acid applied?

The procedure is performed in the  Dermatology consultation through microinjections applied under the scars to be treated. An anesthetic cream is usually used before the session and it is very tolerable, with minimal discomfort.

How many hyaluronic acid sessions are needed to treat facial acne scars?

In general, if they are not very deep or extensive,  one is enough.

How is the face after doing the filling session?

The corrective effect of hyaluronic acid is immediate. At the end of the session, most atrophic and depressed scars have recovered all or part of their lost volume. Immediately after the session, it is usual to see some redness in the treated areas and slight swelling, which usually lasts between 2-4 hours.

It is possible, although infrequent, that during the procedure a  minimal punctual hematoma may appear in an injection area, which will disappear spontaneously over a week or so.

Is it a painful procedure?

Filling with hyaluronic acid after application of anesthetic cream is one of the most well-tolerated and appreciated aesthetic procedures, with an excellent satisfaction rate for the patient.

Can fillers be combined with other acne scar treatments?

Yes.  They can be used concomitantly with ablative/non-ablative peels or lasers, or even botulinum toxin if desired. It is recommended, yes, to carry them out in different sessions.

Is the effect of hyaluronic acid definitive?

No.  Although with each session there is a certain accumulation of the effect due to the collagen synthesis promoted by hyaluronic acid, it is advisable to perform a filler every  6-18 months depending on the indication and the area to be treated.

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10 Benefits Of Feijoa Or Pineapple Guava

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