Real Time Ultrasound and Physiotherapy

Real-time ultrasound is a medical imaging technique that provides a continuous, moving image of the internal structures of the body in real time. In Physiotherapy, it is a useful tool to assess both core and pelvic floor muscle activation and strength.

What is the core?

It is made up of both an ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ unit of muscles. The ‘outer unit’ consists of the superficial muscles of the abdomen that control the movements of your trunk; this includes the rectus abdominus and obliques (internal and external). The ‘inner unit’ consists of muscles deep to the ‘outer unit’ that are meant to stabilize your trunk, pelvis and spine; this includes the transversus abdominus, pelvic floor muscles, multifidus and the diaphragm.

Why is the core important?

In order to have a properly functioning and healthy body, both sets of core muscles have to do their jobs well to allow for safe dynamic movement and provide load transfer between the upper and lower body. The ‘inner unit’ is especially important to provide a stable foundation in which the ‘outer unit’ can work off. The ‘inner unit’ consists of muscles that are anticipatory in nature and that fire at low intensity allowing for them to be on for long periods of time. Unfortunately, pain and injury inhibits these muscles from doing their job either by failing to turn them on or delaying their response; leading to an eventual loss of strength and endurance. This continued dysfunction causes general instability throughout the spine/pelvis and can lead to further or recurrent injuries.

How do I know if I’m using the right muscles?

We hear this from clients in our practice all the time, and it’s difficult to know just by touch if you are isolating the ‘inner unit’ properly. For example, the majority of times clients think that they are recruiting their transversus abdominus they are often using their oblique muscles. We are fortunate to have a Real Time Ultrasound (RTUS) machine at Ascend that allows us to visualize the ‘inner unit’ muscles mentioned above to ensure our clients are recruiting them correctly. Once the proper recruitment pattern has been developed, clients can then use our Clinical Pilates program to continue progressing and really achieve results : less or no back pain, increasing spine stamina , strength, confidence which leads to overall enhanced love of life and fitness.

This is only a brief overview, and just one component of a Physiotherapy treatment plan that can be developed for you at Ascend based on your personal history and goals.