Therapeutic Ultrasound in Dogs

Most pet parents are familiar with the use of ultrasound in veterinary medicine as an imaging technique. But ultrasound can also be used to reduce pain and inflammation, increase mobility, and encourage healing for injured pets. This is what’s known as therapeutic ultrasound, or ultrasound therapy.

Therapeutic ultrasound is a physiotherapy treatment option used in both human and animal medicine. It uses high-frequency sound waves to vibrate and heat body tissues, speeding up the healing process and relieving pain.

Therapeutic ultrasound requires repeated treatments, but it’s not a painful procedure and pets don’t need to be sedated for this type of therapy. But how exactly does ultrasound therapy for dogs work and what conditions can it be used to treat? Keep reading to find out.

In a lot of ways, therapeutic ultrasound is much like a relaxing massage for your dog. It’s not painful and is often a pleasant experience for canine patients. Here’s how it works.

The head of the ultrasound probe features a crystal, which is made to vibrate by an electric current. This creates high-frequency sound waves that can be targeted to vibrate and heat injured tissue inside the animal being treated.

The ultrasound probe is placed directly onto your dog’s skin for treatment. As there needs to be good contact between the head of the probe and the skin, in most cases the dog’s fur needs to be clipped at the area being treated.

The frequency of the sound waves used is either 1 MHz (megahertz) or 3 MHz, depending on the injury being targeted.1 MHz waves penetrate to a depth of 5cm, while 3 MHz waves penetrate to a shallower depth of 1-2 cm. 

A water-based ultrasound gel is applied over the area being treated. This improves the conduction of the ultrasound waves into the deeper tissues. The probe is applied in gentle stroking sweeps or small circular movements over the affected area, and it generally takes 2.5 minutes to treat an area equal to the surface area of the head of the ultrasound probe.

The therapy is repeated two to three times a week, until the desired improvement in the movement of the joint or muscle is achieved. Therapeutic ultrasound should only be undertaken under the direction of a veterinarian, so referral from the vet to an animal physiotherapist is necessary. 

In human medicine, therapeutic ultrasound is used by physiotherapists and occupational therapists to treat chronic pain and rehabilitate sports injuries. In a veterinary setting, it’s used alongside medication and other pain management techniques to treat a wide range of similar conditions. 

Ultrasound therapy has the major advantages of being drug-free and capable of being administered without sedation. While there are limited studies on the efficacy of its use in dogs, it has been shown to be effective at treating muscle injuries and enhancing the healing of surgically severed Achilles tendons. 

However, it’s important that ultrasound therapy is only administered on the advice of a vet. 

Ultrasound therapy is typically used alongside other therapeutic methods to help an injured dog return to full health. While the treatment itself has minimal short-term impact on the patient, it's likely that your dog will need to adhere to a specific exercise or physiotherapy regime as part of the recuperation process. 

How quickly your dog experiences a benefit depends largely on the nature of a problem. For example, a single session of ultrasound therapy on the incision from a routine spaying procedure may be enough to speed up wound healing, but a joint that has seized up as a result of an old injury may need multiple weeks of therapy to show a satisfactory improvement.

Paying for ultrasound therapy out of pocket can be a major financial burden. Fortunately, most pet insurance companies reimburse claims within 3 days, putting 90% of the bill back in your pocket. In the market for pet insurance? Compare leading pet insurance companies to find the right plan for your pet.

Your dog may need an initial assessment by a veterinary physiotherapist. Prices vary, but the cost could be anywhere from around $75 to $200 for a 60-minute assessment. Subsequent sessions could cost as much as $100 each, depending on where you live and the type of equipment used. 

Remember, this cost is per session, so for a dog that needs three treatments a week for a couple of months, this can amount to a sizable expense.

Therapeutic ultrasound is about encouraging a natural process — repair — so that inflammation, pain, and scar tissue are kept to a minimum. When the correct patients are selected, there is very little risk attached to the therapy. 

However, there are also some circumstances where it should not be used, such as:

• During pregnancy. The effects of prolonged exposure to therapeutic ultrasound during pregnancy are not known, therefore any risk is best avoided

• Over tumors. The increased blood supply to an area could encourage the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body.

• Over metal orthopedic implants. The pins, plates, or screws used to replace joints or repair fractured bones may heat up under prolonged exposure to therapeutic ultrasound. This could cause discomfort and pain.

You can help your dog avoid the need for therapeutic ultrasound by maintaining healthy joints and warming them up before vigorous exercise to reduce the risks of sprains and strains. Creating healthy joints starts even before you acquire the puppy, by doing research into responsible breeders and sourcing a puppy that is from parents free of conditions such as hip dysplasia.

In addition, large-breed puppies should be fed a large-breed growth diet. This reduces the risk of the dog's bones growing too quickly, which predisposes them to damaged cartilage and weak joints. 

Other sensible precautions include not over-exerting the dog during exercise until they are finished growing. To this end, dogs should not attend agility classes until they are 12 to 18 months old (depending on size and breed). 

If your dog is showing signs of pain or discomfort, seek prompt veterinary treatment. Using anti-inflammatory drugs at an early stage can reduce inflammation of the delicate cartilage lining the joints and protect it from being chipped or torn. In addition, for breeds that are prone to joint problems, giving a nutraceutical product containing chondroitin and glucosamine could be a beneficial investment in long-term joint health.