UHF therapy: technique, indications, contraindications

About the disease

Otitis is an ENT disease characterized by severe inflammation in the ear and manifested by uncomfortable pain in the external auditory canal and in the temporal part of the head, the appearance of bloody discharge with pus and partial hearing impairment.

In most cases, it occurs during colds, due to an infection that accidentally entered the hearing organ from the upper respiratory tract.

Much less often for other reasons - due to improper ear care, water getting into the auditory organ or allergies.

Timely treatment of an inflammatory disease in the auditory organ significantly reduces the risk of developing more serious pathologies in the future, which include: hearing impairment or complete loss, damage to the facial nerve and unilateral impairment of motor functions as a result, inflammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord and its temporal part. Therefore, they should not be neglected. And if the doctor has prescribed physiotherapy, then it is better to visit the physiotherapy room without misses.

How to treat otitis media

Acute otitis media is most common in children, although adults can also suffer from it, in whom the disease can be chronic with periods of exacerbations. Its occurrence is associated with the development of ARVI, influenza, or exacerbation of infectious and inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx. The disease has the nature of a complication, a secondary process against the background of a weakening of the general immune defense or a decrease in the local resistance of the mucous membranes. Hypothermia, improper ear care, chronic runny nose, and abuse of sprays and drops with vasoconstrictor substances contribute to the formation of otitis symptoms.

Common cause

Otitis is the penetration of infection into the ear cavity by an ascending route - from the nasopharynx during ARVI or adenoiditis, sinusitis. Rarely, the introduction of microbes occurs through the blood or lymph flow from distant foci. In such a situation, otitis media can be treated either conservatively, through the use of local and systemic medications, or surgically, with the risk of pus breaking into the cranial cavity and unbearable pain.

Often acute otitis media

manifested by an increase in temperature and general malaise against the background of sharp and severe pain in the ear area, on one side or on both sides at once. During the accumulation of fluid and swelling in the ear cavity, hearing decreases, especially severely at the peak of the process; with perforation of the membrane and outflow of pus, with adequate treatment, this symptom gradually disappears. In the absence of any medicinal measures, when using traditional methods, complications and permanent hearing loss may develop. Only a doctor can prescribe treatment for otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear).

Physiotherapy for otitis media

Physiotherapy prescribed by a doctor for the treatment of an inflammatory process that occurs in the outer, middle or inner ear helps:

reduce the duration of general therapy;
enhance the effectiveness of medications prescribed by a doctor and minimize the development of side effects and allergic reactions due to them;
remove inflammation in the organ and eliminate painful sensations in the affected area.

All physiotherapy procedures that are used in the treatment of inflammation in the ear are divided into warming, cleansing and stimulating techniques.

Cleansing approaches

These methods are used in cases where high-quality cleaning of the ear canal is required.

To perform this, your doctor may prescribe:

washing the ear canal with slightly warmed water or hydrogen peroxide is a procedure that is prescribed for purulent inflammation in order to stop the existing infection from spreading further;
or blowing the auditory organ to clean the auditory tube.

Stimulating treatments

Stimulating physiotherapy procedures are prescribed when it is necessary to relieve puffiness and swelling from an inflamed organ, normalize blood circulation in the affected area and dissolve stagnant formations in the tissues of the diseased auditory organ.

Such procedures used to treat inflammatory processes in the ear include:

magnetotherapy - exposure of the diseased area to a low-frequency magnetic field;
pneumomassage - simulation of an inflamed ear with air flows of different pressures;
increasing blood flow and restoring the movement of the auditory ossicles with current, through activation of the cortical and subcortical auditory centers;
therapy with alternating sinusoidal currents, provoking rhythmic muscle contraction and improving blood circulation in the damaged area.

Current therapy and magnetic therapy are usually prescribed immediately in a course: an average of 10 procedures of 10 minutes each. You can do the massage at home yourself, using the palms of your hands.

Warming techniques

Warming techniques prescribed for inflammation in the ear include:

exposure to a UV lamp placed in a reflector on the affected organ of hearing;
UHF therapy;
administration of zinc sulfate and antibiotics through electrophoresis.

One phototherapy procedure usually takes ¼ hour, a standard UHF therapy session takes 5-7 minutes, and a warming electrophoresis procedure takes 10-20 minutes. Let us consider in more detail the last two methods indicated in the list of warming procedures.

UHF therapy

This method of physiotherapy is especially often prescribed by doctors in the treatment of acute inflammation of various parts of the auditory organ.

The essence of the UHF method is the direct impact of an electromagnetic field with a given frequency on the affected area through special plates.

During this process, the tissue cells of the affected organ absorb the heat they receive and convert it into their own thermal energy, thus stimulating blood circulation in the diseased ear and making inflammation less pronounced.

Electrophoresis for otitis media

Electrophoresis for otitis media involves the use of special electrodes that should be placed on certain areas of the body. Their selection is made in advance by a medical specialist. Gauze napkins soaked in a medicinal solution are placed under the devices themselves. And when the medicine in distilled water is divided into ionic particles, it penetrates deep under the skin under the influence of current and is quickly absorbed into the blood. In this way, the drug used is absorbed more quickly by the body and is much more effective.

All physiotherapy procedures can be used both for the treatment of children and for therapy in adults.

UHF

UHF for sinusitis is prescribed to patients after a decrease in body temperature and when positive dynamics appear. The beneficial effect of electric currents on the body makes it possible to use the beneficial properties of rays to correct a large number of diseases. Its general availability and lack of special training makes it most useful in general practice.

Almost all patients report an improvement in their condition after the first session. Is it possible to do UHF for sinusitis? The answer to the question lies in the effects caused by the electric field.

Pain relief.
Reduced inflammation.
Normalization of the vascular bed, which relieves swelling.
Activation of the local immune response.
Acceleration of recovery processes in damaged tissues.
Activation of the body's defenses occurs at the cellular level.
Acceleration of blood and lymph circulation.
Slowing down the absorption of toxins from the source of infection into the bloodstream.

The effect of high-frequency currents on the body increases local immunity , which prevents the penetration of infection, improves blood circulation and activates intracellular and interstitial metabolism, which allows the body to quickly recover from damage by an infectious agent.

It should be remembered that despite the high activity and low cost of the procedure together with ease of use, inflammation of the paranasal sinuses requires an integrated approach. Without other methods, recovery will not happen.

Contraindications

Any physiotherapeutic procedure has a number of indications, which can be divided into absolute (in which use is unacceptable) and relative (each case regarding the possibility of carrying out the procedure is considered by the attending physician, and sometimes by a medical commission). Ultra-high electromagnetic pulse can provoke complications of certain conditions.

UHF contraindications for sinusitis:

blood diseases,
tendency to bleed
low blood pressure,
severe diseases of the cardiovascular system,
neoplasms,
high body temperature,
pregnancy.

In any case, the doctor decides to prescribe a set of procedures based on the state of health, concomitant diseases and the stage of development of the infectious process.

Treatment of nasal infection is acceptable in young children and can be carried out in pregnant women (considered individually).

For inflammation of the maxillary sinus, local exposure to UHF is used on the sinuses.

Technique

No special preparation is required, but if you have sinusitis, you should clear your nasal passages and sinus cavity of mucus. If breathing is impaired due to swelling of the mucous membrane, then it is necessary to apply vasoconstrictor drops 20-30 minutes before the start of treatment.

The patient takes a comfortable position lying or sitting on the couch.
The electrodes (plates) of the device are installed in the area of the maxillary sinuses parallel to the wings of the nose.
Fabric is placed between the patient's skin and the electrodes; direct contact with the skin is not allowed. The presence of airspace is a prerequisite.
The time is determined by the attending physician; on average, the effect takes 15-20 minutes.

Sessions are held every other day until the sinuses are completely cleared of contents, confirmed by x-rays.

Complications

If the technique is violated, complications are possible, which manifest themselves in the following:

Burns to mucous membranes and skin due to direct application of plates without observing the air gap conditions.
Bleeding (may occur due to capillary fragility).
Scarring of tissue when forming a barrier to the spread of infection from the connective tissue.
Electric shock (possible due to violation of safety regulations or malfunction of the device).

If indications and contraindications are taken into account and carried out correctly, UHF can significantly reduce the time of illness and more completely eliminate the pathological process with the simultaneous formation of local immunity.

Contraindications

Despite all the benefits and the almost complete absence of side effects after therapy, some physiotherapy procedures - in particular UHF therapy and electrophoresis - may not be applicable in all cases.

Contraindications for their implementation are:

the presence of malignant tumors arising in tissues and organs from epithelial cells;
decompensated dysfunction of the muscular middle layer of the heart;
dysfunction of blood clotting in the body;
chronic inflammatory non-infectious disease of the respiratory tract, which involves a variety of cellular elements, or active tuberculosis;
the presence of certain skin diseases or an installed pacemaker;
and carrying a fetus at any stage of pregnancy.

Physiotherapy is one of the methods of complex therapy, without which it is almost impossible to treat otitis media today. In otorhinolaryngology, these procedures are one of the most popular methods of treating emerging diseases in the patient, used both as monotherapy and in combination with other treatment methods. And for good reason. The effectiveness of physiotherapy has been proven by the positive dynamics of treatment of otitis in most cases.