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Having difficultly making the "Core Connection"? Working hard on your "core" exercises but unsure if you are actually using the muscles the exercises are meant to target? Have no idea what is meant by "your deep abdominals and back muscles or inner unit"? Come visit The Endurance Sport and Wellness Centre for a Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS) assessment that allows both you and your physiotherapist to see how your "core" muscles function as you perform your exercises!!
This new & cutting edge RTUS service is available at The Endurance Sport and Wellness Centre as of November 1, 2008. RTUS assessments are ideal for accurate and objective assessment of the vital core stabilizing muscles. The RTUS display provides you with important visual feedback, which enables you to learn to recognize the sensation of correctly contracting the core muscles, enabling you to train these muscles efficiently. An experienced physiotherapist will conduct all assessments.
Using real time ultrasound we can clinically observe and measure the extent of the Transversus Abdominis and Multifidus contractions. This allows the patient to have a measurable point of reference to ensure that the current stability and strengthening program they are on is effective.
The initial sessions using the ultrasound feedback will allow the patients to see the muscles contracting as they learn how to correctly contract their stabilisers. For more advanced patients the real time ultrasound allows accurate assessment of improvement by seeing the contractions and measure the quality of the contractions.
Real time ultrasound is currently the most effective tool to ensure that your stabilisation muscles are in fact getting stronger and as such providing clinical, measurable proof that your rehabilitation is going to have long-term success.
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What is Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS) imaging?
RTUS imaging is basically sonar, the same system used by bats and ships at sea. RTUS involves the sending of inaudible sound waves through the body with an ultrasound transducer. The transducer is placed on the client’s skin and functions as a loudspeaker creating sound waves and functions as a microphone that records the resulting sound waves. Internal body tissues reflect these sound waves and these reflections are then collected and displayed as a real-time picture on a computer monitor. The RTUS is used as a biofeedback tool that allows physiotherapists to visualize the contraction of the deep muscles of the trunk. Research has shown that these deep or ‘core’ muscles are critical for stabilizing the spinal column and pelvis. Core muscles are located deeper than other layers of muscle and they are difficult to feel and cannot be seen without using this technology. With RTUS both the physiotherapist and the patient are able to watch and assess the efficiency of the muscle contraction as it occurs. Photographs from the examination can be provided in the report.
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How can Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS) imaging help me?
Core muscles protect and support the spine. Physiotherapists assess the “core” or deep muscle corset using RTUS by observing these muscles at rest and during contraction. In addition to RTUS’s role in assessment, its imaging capability is used as a biofeedback tool for re-educating patients on the proper timing and sequencing of muscle contraction during exercises. With RTUS, patients will actually be able to watch the inner muscles contracting during exercise. Recent research has shown that in as little as 20 proper repetitions, your brain starts to remember proper recruitment and usage of the deep muscles. Following the RTUS assessment, a specialized exercise program can be designed to meet the needs of each patient. This exercise program can tone the deep muscles of the trunk to improve strength as well as protecting and supporting the spine.
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How can Real Time Ultrasound Imaging assist my Doctor, Physiotherapist, Biokinetist or Pilates Instructor?
By carrying out routine RTUS clinical tests, we can compare the previous report to the current report, allowing a measurable improvement to be calculated. This will allow your Health Professional or Instructor to physically see an improvement, and therefore modify your personalized program accordingly.
The patients can also carry out new exercises they have been given, and ensure that they are maintaining the Core connection whilst doing the new or advanced exercise.
RTUS allows us to clinically measure and assess the patient’s rehabilitation.
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Who Might Benefit From Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS) imaging?
If you are a patient whose spinal pain has not improved with therapy, core muscle training, pilates, or yoga it may be because the muscles that ensure core stability are not contracting correctly. If you are unsure as to whether you can activate these muscles correctly, a RTUS assessment would be of great benefit.
People of all ages can benefit from RTUS assessment:
- Poor core stability
- Recent, chronic or recurrent low back pain
- Obstetric back pain
- Women who wish to regain abdominal muscle tone post partum
- Pre and post spinal surgery conditions
- Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction
Anyone, Athletes included, can benefit greatly from RTUS:
- Recreational and Elite level athletes who want to determine if they are using their core muscles effectively during training or sporting activities. For example identifying over or under use of any component of the core muscles
- Athletes who may or may not recognize that they have poor core stability
- Those athletes who are finding that they are getting repetitive tightness in the same torso, hip or leg muscles that is not easing with stretching or other treatment
- Increased prevention of injury and enhanced performance by ensuring optimal core muscle usage
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What are the risks with Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS)?
The use of biofeedback ultrasound has no known harmful effects. However, we do not advise patients that are pregnant to undergo many more ultrasound sessions than is necessary as a precaution to ensure no ill effects to the fetus.
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What the difference between Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS) and the regular ultrasound that I usually receive in physiotherapy?
In order to generate an image where you can see the muscles, RTUS uses lower energy and different frequencies then therapeutic ultrasound. Therapeutic ultrasound is the form of ultrasound that you may be more familiar with as it is commonly used in physiotherapy practices. Therapeutic ultrasound uses sound waves to bring heat or high frequency vibration to the body tissues and therefore uses much higher energy in this application. This is why with therapeutic ultrasound the clinician must be continually moving the sound head (probe) over your skin but in RTUS the sound head (probe) can be held still.
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What do I wear for the Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS) assessment and treatment sessions?
Comfortable active wear is suitable for the RTUS assessment.
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Will my treatment consist of only Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS)?
Neck, mid back and low back pain can be complex conditions especially when the condition is chronic. Retraining the core muscles can be important in the road to recovery and RTUS is a useful tool for both the assessment and treatment of the core muscles that are difficult to palpate and observe during activity. Often retraining is not the sole solution and RTUS is used in conjunction with many other forms of physiotherapy and medical interventions to reduce or eliminate your pain.
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What will a real time ultrasound assessment cost?
The assessment will be carried out by a Physiotherapist at the Endurance Sport and Wellness Centre, therefore the 30 minute assessment will be charged at medical aid rates as per a normal Physiotherapy assessment, and will be claimable from your medical aid.
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