Physiotherapy, osteopathy and rehabilitation tailored to you

Musculoskeletal ultrasound is a very useful tool for assessing soft tissues (tendons, muscles, bursae, ligaments, subcutaneous tissue, viscera, peripheral nerves, blood vessels…) and the bone surface. It is quicker and more affordable than other imaging tests such as an MRI, and it shows the tissues in real time, which allows us to carry out dynamic examinations.

Infrared therapy (IRA) is usually applied with lamps that emit across a broad electromagnetic spectrum, with most of their power in type A infrared, close to visible red light. Standard infrared therapy (not laser) means type A or thermal infrared.

The patient is placed under the lamp at a distance where the heat feels pleasant, never stifling or burning, for about 10, 15 or 20 minutes depending on the physiotherapist's judgement. The session ends earlier if the patient feels uncomfortable, starts to sweat, or the heat becomes stifling.

Therapeutic ultrasound is one of the devices we use most in physiotherapy. Patients often ask what it does, because they feel nothing while it is applied. Unlike heat or cold, which produce immediate sensations, ultrasound causes no change the patient can notice. Far from being a placebo, it has proven uses and effects.

The device sends mechanical waves of a higher frequency than sound through a medium (gel), which lets them travel into the tissues and deliver energy as deep heat through vibration. This vibration produces cellular movement that improves healing and raises the temperature of the treated area. Deep tissues have few or no heat receptors, which is why the patient does not feel the change in temperature.

Intratissue Percutaneous Electrolysis (EPI®) is an invasive physiotherapy technique in which a galvanic current is applied through an acupuncture needle under ultrasound guidance. This produces a localised inflammatory response that allows phagocytosis and repair of the damaged soft tissue (tendon, ligament, muscle, etc.).

EPI® is used to treat chronic tendinopathies and many other neuromusculoskeletal injuries, such as:

• Chronic tendinopathies (patellar, Achilles, hamstrings, groin pain, tennis elbow, supraspinatus and rotator cuff)
• Plantar fasciitis
• Acute and chronic muscle tears (fibrosis)
• Myofascial trigger points
• Medial collateral ligament sprain of the knee
• Chronic ankle sprain
• Shin splints (tibial periostitis)
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Tarsal tunnel syndrome
• Ankle and hip impingement

Magnetotherapy is an increasingly common physical therapy. At first it was used almost exclusively to help bone tissue regenerate; over the years, its wider regenerative effects, due to the physiological changes it produces in the body, have been confirmed.

Today we use low-frequency, high-intensity magnetic fields for many conditions of the nervous and circulatory systems, the musculoskeletal system and even the skin. Their deep penetration makes magnetotherapy a treatment of choice: easy to apply and effective against inflammation and conditions involving local pain.

Burst-mode TENS (low frequency and high amplitude, also called acupuncture-like TENS) stimulates the central nervous system to release endogenous opioids, which relieves pain. It can be used for both chronic and acute pain.

It works because electrically stimulating a large number of fast-conducting nerve fibres creates a kind of “system overload” that blocks the perception of pain. Even when the pain is not completely blocked, the reduction is significant and is felt as real relief.

A technique that applies electromagnetic energy to the body to support its biochemical activity. The dose is measured and calibrated so that it is neither excessive nor insufficient. Its biological effects include:

• Pain relief in the treated area
• Anti-inflammatory and anti-oedema effect
• Healing of wounds and injuries in different tissues
• Photo-energetic and photochemical effects (release of histamine, serotonin and bradykinin)

Shoulder wheel: used to work the shoulder, and indirectly the elbow and wrist. It is mounted on the wall with a height-adjustable bracket, has a handle that adapts to the patient's range of movement, and a friction system to increase or reduce resistance.

Finger ladder: used mainly to increase the shoulder's range of movement, first in flexion with the elbow straight and then in abduction. Only a few repetitions are done, because it is a very effective exercise but tiring for the muscles.

Mounted on a steel frame on the wall and fitted with weights, the pulleys are used mainly for upper-limb exercises. Pulley therapy changes the direction of a force without changing its size, or helps move an affected limb that is not yet strong enough to do the movement on its own, using active or passive re-education methods.

For people going through rehabilitation who need more personalised and safer training. The treadmill is designed for therapeutic use, with ergonomic handrails, especially helpful for people with reduced mobility, and a progressive cushioning system.