Ultrasound and Electrical Therapy in the Treatment of Common Workplace Complaints

Adult Americans who are employed full time report working an average of 47 hours per week, which equates to nearly six days a week, according to the Gallup Poll. These hours reported are more than an hour and a half more then what workers reported a decade ago and continues to climb. What’s more, 4 out of 10 employed workers actually log 50+ hours on the job.  While there are many workplace injuries that can lead to disability, office workers face a different type of injury that is a result of sitting for long periods of time with extended hours working on a computer or phone. Some of the most common workplace injuries are:

• Low Back Pain
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Headaches
• Neck Pain & Shoulder Pain
• Lateral Epicondylitis

Workplace injuries cost an average of $250 billion annually. When office workers suffer from these types of injuries, it can lead to:

• Loss of work
• Increased medical costs for both the worker and employee
• Decreased ability to perform job tasks

Physical therapy is one of the best, most cost-effective way to heal workplace injuries and return an office worker both to their daily activities and to their jobs. Let’s look at some of the best tools physical therapists use to address the symptoms associated with office workplace injuries.

Best Physical Therapy Tools for Treating Workplace Injuries

Low Back Pain: Low back pain is one of the most common complaints for office workers. Extended hours spent sitting at a desk, working on a computer, talking on a phone or filing can all contribute to low back pain. According to World Health Organization, 149 million work days are lost annually in

the United States each year. Physical therapy can help not only reduce pain, but also create a regimen that helps avoid future recurrence. Some of the tools used to help reduce low back pain are:

• Ultrasound therapy: Ultrasound therapy using a larger soundhead applicator (10cm) in continuous mode is beneficial in reducing low back pain. Ultrasound therapy can be used at the end of a treatment session for low back pain in order to reduce any triggered pain as a result of movement therapy.
• Ergonomic Education: Physical therapists can provide important information about ergonomics for the patient’s individual work station by helping identify situations that can lead to back injury and how to avoid them.

Related Article: Treating Recurrent Injuries With Physical Therapy

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: More than 8 million people suffer from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome each year. Surgery is often recommended for patients who suffer from long-term carpal tunnel syndrome, but has a 57% failure rate. Physical therapy can provide tools that not only help reduce pain, swelling and loss of range of motion associated with carpal tunnel, but can help reduce the risk of recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome.

• Electrical Stimulation: Electrical stimulation in the form of transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) has been shown to reduce pain and improve nerve sensation in patients with carpal tunnel. What’s more, a study published in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation found that TENS in combination with low-level laser therapy helped reduce pain in failed surgical patients with carpal tunnel and helped them return to daily work activities for 1-3 years.
• Therapeutic Stretching: Gentle therapeutic stretches can help CTS patients increase their range of motion but also help release the entrapped nerve that can cause pain in the hand and wrist. Physical therapists can supply office workers with gentle stretches they can use in the office in order to improve blood flow to the wrist.

Headaches: Poor posture and non-ergonomic workstations contribute to workplace pain and tension headaches.  About 86% of office workers sit all day for work and are at a high risk for chronic headaches. Not only can physical therapy help patients learn how to create ergonomic workspaces, but can utilize modalities to help immediately reduce pain.

• Ultrasound Therapy: Therapeutic ultrasound using a smaller soundhead applicator (1 cm or 5cm) in pulsed mode can help reduce pain associated with tension headaches or migraines. See SoundCare Plus Professional Ultrasound.
• Electrical Stimulation: Electrical stimulation in the form of transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) is FDA-approved to treat migraine and headache pain. This is a great modality to use during a physical therapy session, but portable TENS devices provide patients with valuable alternative pain relief for use at home.

Neck & Shoulder Pain: Neck and shoulder pain can be caused by poor posture, extended computer work and use of a computer mouse. Neck and shoulder pain can be debilitating and it is often associated with a loss in mobility which can lead to extended problems in performing daily job tasks.

Physical therapy can help reduce neck and shoulder pain with the following modalities:

• Therapeutic Ultrasound & Electrical Stimulation Combination: A therapeutic ultrasound and electrical stimulation combination device can deliver both modalities simultaneously to help: reduce pain, release entrapped nerves and improve range of motion to the neck and shoulders. This is a great modality to use at the beginning of a session to reduce pain enough to help patient’s ability to participate in movement modalities.
• Cold Compression Therapy: Cold compression therapy is a nice contrasting therapy to therapeutic ultrasound and electrical stimulation that also provides pain relief in addition to helping reduce swelling. This is a great modality to use at the end of the session to help reduce any pain initiated by a session.

Lateral Epicondylitis: Lateral Epicondylitis or tennis elbow isn’t usually associated with office work, but it is a growing problem due to the increased use of computers in most office job tasks. Lateral Epicondylitis is a combination of muscle and tendon pain. In order to treat tennis elbow effectively it’s important to have pain relieving modalities in addition to providing tools to prevent recurrence.

• Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation (TENS): A study published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders found that TENS is extremely effective in reducing pain associated with Tennis elbow in a short amount of treatment time.
• Ergonomics Education: Ergonomics play a large role in reducing tennis elbow pain and preventing further injury and pain. Physical therapists can provide valuable information as to how an office worker can set up their workstation and computer in order to support their ability to perform job tasks pain-free.

Not only is office work on the rise, telecommuting is growing too, with 45% of US workers working from home.  These increasing numbers mean more workers who are at risk for developing or experiencing office work pain and injuries. Physical therapy is both the employers and employees best tool for reducing pain, improving function and returning to work in the most time-efficient, cost-efficient manner. For more, see the ProHealthcareProducts.com blog.