Physical therapy for cervical spondylosis

Nowadays, more and more people are suffering from cervical spondylosis. The best way to deal with cervical spondylosis is of course prevention, because if we accidentally suffer from cervical spondylosis, the treatment process is very long, and the recovery effect is not very good. So what treatment methods do we have for cervical spondylosis? In fact, we still have a way to treat cervical spondylosis.

For cervical spondylosis, we can use traditional Chinese medicine methods such as massage and acupuncture, which will have a very good effect. We can also use drugs to treat cervical spondylosis, or use traction and exercise methods to treat cervical spondylosis. The following article introduces physical therapy for cervical spondylosis.

1. Anti-inflammation, swelling and pain relief

(1) Ultrashort wave therapy, short wave therapy

This type of high-frequency electrotherapy has a significant effect on improving blood circulation. With proper dosage, it can enhance the oxygen and nutrition supply to tissues, reduce exudation, promote the excretion of inflammatory and pain-causing substances, facilitate the disappearance of congestion and the absorption of edema, and has a significant anti-inflammatory and detumescence effect.

(2) Interference current therapy, intermittent current therapy, superstimulation current therapy and low-frequency modulated pulse medium frequency current therapy. These medium and low frequency electrotherapy can improve local blood circulation and promote lymphatic return, thereby reducing inflammation and swelling.

(3) Ultraviolet light therapy

The erythema reaction caused by ultraviolet radiation can promote local blood circulation, improve nutrition and metabolism, strengthen the removal of pathological inflammation and pain-causing chemical mediators, and make edema and exudation easier to dissipate. The anti-inflammatory effect of ultraviolet therapy occurs based on a certain dose of ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, the appropriate dose is the key to promoting the disappearance of inflammation and edema.

(4) Magnetic therapy

The magnetic field can enhance local blood circulation, promote the absorption of exudates, and has a significant effect on the reduction of edema or hematoma. You can choose magnetic patch application, alternating electromagnetic therapy, rotating magnetic therapy or high-frequency pulse magnetic therapy as appropriate. Pay attention to the intensity of the magnetic field to prevent side effects.

2. Relieve Pain

In addition to the above-mentioned physical treatment methods for reducing inflammation, swelling and pain, you can also use analgesic anesthetic drugs for direct current introduction, such as novostatin and lidocaine, which have obvious analgesic effects.

3. Relieve muscle spasms and reduce the tension of fibrous connective tissue

(1) Shortwave therapy, microwave therapy, decimeter wave therapy

The warming effect of this type of high-frequency electrotherapy is deep and obvious. It can reduce the tension of skeletal muscle, gastrointestinal smooth muscle and fibrous connective tissue, relieve muscle spasms, and increase the elasticity of tendons, ligaments, joint capsules and other tissues.

(2) Infrared therapy, wax therapy

The thermal effect of infrared therapy is shallow, mainly in the superficial layer of the skin, but it can warm up the muscles and subcutaneous tissue through nerve reflex and body fluid mechanism, so it has obvious effects of relieving spasms and reducing the tension of fibrous connective tissue.

The warming effect of wax therapy, coupled with its mechanical compression, can relieve muscle spasms.

(3) Hydrotherapy uses the thermal stimulation or mechanical impact of a hot bath or whirlpool bath to reduce muscle tension and relieve spasms.

4. Loosen adhesions and soften scars

(1) Ultrasound therapy

Ultrasound is a mechanical vibration wave that has a micro-massage effect, secondary heating effect and physical and chemical effect on local tissue cells, thereby enhancing the diffusion process of the semipermeable membrane, enhancing penetration, improving blood circulation and tissue nutrition, stretching and lengthening hard connective tissue, softening scars, loosening adhesions, and relieving contractures.

(2) Direct current iodine ion penetration uses the effects of polar direct current and iodine to concentrate water on scars and adhesion tissues, allowing tissue protein to absorb water, dissolve, swell and soften, thereby softening scars and loosening adhesions.

(3) Audio electrotherapy

Audio current can stimulate adhesion of fibrous tissue, including nerve fibers, muscle fibers and connective tissue, making them active and gradually loosening. At the same time, audio current can promote local blood circulation, improve its nutrition and metabolism, thereby loosening adhesions and softening scars.

5. Promote the recovery of nerve, muscle and joint movement function

(1) Low- and medium-frequency pulse electrical stimulation therapy Appropriate low-frequency pulse or medium-frequency pulse electrical stimulation of diseased nerves and muscles can excite them and cause them to contract. The rhythmic contraction movement caused by this stimulation can promote medical education in the ward.

It improves blood circulation, muscle nutrition, reduces protein consumption in muscles, prevents massive water loss in muscles and damage to electrolytes, enzyme systems and contractile substances, inhibits muscle fibrosis, prevents muscle fibers from shortening, thickening and hardening, and delays muscle atrophy. At the same time, electrical stimulation of muscles can exercise muscles, enhance muscle strength, correct spinal deformities, etc. There are many types of low and medium frequency pulse currents. The most targeted therapeutic current should be selected according to the nature of the nerve and muscle lesions.

① To prevent and treat disuse muscular atrophy, induction electrotherapy or new induction electrotherapy should be chosen. This electric current can prevent muscle atrophy caused by nerve disuse, treat disuse muscle atrophy after immobilization surgery, and prevent muscle atrophy caused by reflex inhibition.

②Treatment of muscular dystrophy

A. Triangle wave low frequency pulse electrotherapy

This electric current can selectively stimulate the diseased muscles without affecting the adjacent normal muscles, and only causes motor effects in the diseased muscles without stimulating the sensory nerves. Therefore, this kind of electrotherapy can make the paralyzed muscles move rhythmically and promote their recovery, which is the so-called electrogymnastics therapy.

B. Medium frequency electrotherapy with low frequency modulation This type of electric current has less stimulation to the skin, is less likely to cause pain, is easily tolerated by patients, and has a deep effect. It is suitable for patients with deeper diseased muscles or whose skin has poor tolerance to low-frequency electrical stimulation.

C. Interference electrotherapy

The medium frequency current, which belongs to low frequency modulation, is the interference field formed by the intersection of two currents in the body, that is, the "endogenous" pulse medium frequency current. Therefore, the effect is deeper and may produce the motor threshold current through the selection of the difference frequency. Medical Education Network

Collect and organize excited neuromuscular tissue, causing muscle contraction and promoting its functional recovery.

③Treatment of muscle spastic paralysis

A. Alternating electrical stimulation therapy of spastic muscles and their antagonistic muscles

Two square wave low-frequency pulse currents are used to alternately stimulate the spastic muscles and their antagonistic muscles. Through the reflex inhibition of the spastic muscles after the strong contraction of the spastic muscles and the reflex inhibition of the spastic muscles by the strong contraction of the antagonistic muscles, muscle spasms can be relieved, blood circulation can be improved, muscle atrophy can be prevented and treated, and functional recovery can be promoted.

B. Electrical stimulation therapy of antagonistic muscles uses low-frequency or medium-frequency pulse current or low-frequency modulated medium-frequency current to stimulate the antagonistic muscles of spastic muscles, causing them to contract strongly, inhibiting spastic muscles and relieving muscle spasms.

④Treatment of visceral smooth muscle hypotonia

Low tension of visceral smooth muscles may cause abdominal distension, constipation or urination disorders. The application of low and medium frequency electrotherapy can increase the tension of visceral smooth muscles and improve clinical symptoms. Commonly used treatment methods include: A. Induction electrotherapy, using induction electricity or new induction electrostimulation therapy; B. Low-frequency modulated electric frequency therapy; C. Interference electrotherapy; D. Audio electrotherapy.

(2) Functional stimulation therapy

It is a type of low-frequency pulse electrotherapy. The waveform usually used is square wave with a frequency of 1 to 100 Hz. In rehabilitation medicine, it is called functional electrical stimulation and is used for the rehabilitation treatment of nerve, muscle and joint motor functions. It can be used for electrical stimulation of surface electrodes, or it can be implanted to more accurately stimulate a specific muscle group. Functional electrical stimulation can not only reorganize limb movements, promote self-recovery of voluntary movement control, and rebuild the basic movement mechanism of the spinal cord segment, but also relieve spasms.

(3) Hydrotherapy utilizes the temperature stimulation, mechanical action of moving water, and buoyancy of water to promote the recovery of muscle, joint, and limb dysfunction. Commonly used hydrotherapy methods include:

①Whirlpool bath

The characteristic of a whirlpool bath is that the water in the bathtub flows in a whirlpool-like manner. The continuous eddy current acts on the human body, which is a very good massage. The latest type of whirlpool bath is the Hubbard bathtub, which is butterfly-shaped and comes with a liftable stretcher. It is very convenient for patients with mobility impairments. During hydrotherapy, the therapist can guide the patient to exercise in the water next to the bathtub.

②Sports bath

Sports bath, also known as water training, is more beneficial to the rehabilitation of limb movement dysfunction than whirlpool bath. The exercise bath is conducted in a larger bathing pool with handrails around the pool and parallel bars in the pool. Patients can do various exercises in the pool, and multiple people can do it at the same time.

Above we introduced that there are many treatments for cervical spondylosis, but we should do a good job of preventing cervical spondylosis and not wait until the disease occurs to find methods. Once cervical spondylosis occurs, we have several ways to treat it. The above article focuses on the physical treatment methods for cervical spondylosis.