Conditions Where Ultrasound Therapy Should Not Be Used

Jun 25, 2023

Ultrasound therapy has a few known dangers and should not be used to treat certain conditions or certain parts of the body. If you have cancer, for example, if you're pregnant, or if the injured part of your body contains a total joint replacement, the treatment may do more harm than good.

If you are receiving ultrasound therapy, you should speak with your physical therapist to understand why it is being used and be sure to speak up if you feel that it should not be used for your condition.

This article looks at ultrasound therapy, some of its dangers, and some of the conditions and body parts it should not be used to treat.

Ultrasound therapy is a common physical therapy treatment that is thought to speed healing by providing heat to injured tissues. It's different than the diagnostic ultrasounds that are used to provide images of organs, tissues, or a fetus during pregnancy.

The heat from ultrasound therapy is said to help decrease pain, improve cellular healing, and improve how stretchy your injured body part is. The goal is to help increase range of motion and flexibility.

Ultrasound therapy should not, however, be used in certain situations or on particular parts of the body. These include:

This list of situations where ultrasound should not be used should not be considered complete or absolute. If your physical therapist decides to use ultrasound in the treatment of your condition, be sure to bring up any concerns you may have.

There is also some some debate in physical therapy about whether ultrasound really works to help improve healing. If you receive ultrasound as a treatment from your physical therapist, you should understand that some studies indicate that ultrasound does not improve outcomes for various conditions.

Ultrasound should not be the only treatment that you receive for your condition. In general, your rehab should focus on active movements like exercise. Passive treatments, like ultrasound, should not be the only treatment you receive during your rehabilitation.

Ultrasound is commonly used in physical therapy to help provide pain relief and speed up healing. There are certain situations where it should not be used, however.

For example, it may contribute to metastasis in people with cancer, and it may disrupt the electrical signals around the heart. It should not be used on pregnant people or children. There is also some debate about whether or not ultrasound therapy actually helps improve healing.

A positive physical therapy experience usually involves active patient involvement, and ultrasound should not be the only treatment you receive in physical therapy. Your physical therapist should teach you about your specific condition and ensure that you have a strategy to help improve your condition independently.

Miller DL, Smith NB, Bailey MR, et al. Overview of therapeutic ultrasound applications and safety considerations. J Ultrasound Med. 2012;31(4):623-34.

Katzap Y, Haidukov M, Berland OM, Itzhak RB, Kalichman L. Additive effect of therapeutic ultrasound in the treatment of plantar fasciitis: A randomized controlled trial. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2018;48(11):847-855. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.8110

O'reilly MA, Hynynen K. Emerging non-cancer applications of therapeutic ultrasound. Int J Hyperthermia. 2015;31(3):310-8. doi:10.3109/02656736.2015.1004375

By Brett Sears, PTBrett Sears, PT, MDT, is a physical therapist with over 20 years of experience in orthopedic and hospital-based therapy.