Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy

Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy (MyACT).

At Advanced Health Solutions Georgia Spine & Disc, we’re committed to staying on top of the newest and most effective treatments to offer patients great pain relief. Therefore, we’ve made Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy (MyACT) part of our pain management program. MyACT is mainly used in the treatment of chronic and acute pain in muscles, joints, and tendons.

What is Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy?

Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy (MyACT) is a modern technology that uses sound energy pulses known as “acoustic waves” to treat different painful conditions of the musculoskeletal system.  An acoustic wave is an intense and short duration acoustic wave that travels faster than the speed of sound.

Using acoustic waves, MyACT targets tissues at varying depths by compressing and manipulating your tissue, resulting in a focused and precise deep tissue massage. MyACT delivers results of mechanical stimuli that lead to pain relief and improved circulation – important components for healing.

A pressure surge with a very short rise time, followed by an exponential drop in pressure and a brief phase of negative pressure characterize acoustic pressure waves.

MyACT applications use the pressure that develops or focus in the target tissue at the origin of your pain. The extracorporeal pressure waves affect living tissue depending on the transformation of mechanical stimuli into biomolecular or biochemical signals, also known as mechanotransduction.

What Is The Story Behind MyACT?

Most focused sound waves have been used in the medical field with outstanding success for more than twenty years. Based on the compelling evidence, Richard Wolf GmbH – the manufacturer of orthopedic (ESWT) and lithotripsy (ESWL) devices –designed Piezo therapy sources to generate low pressure/low energy applications for the treatment of musculoskeletal and myofascial pain.

Since the early ’90s, acoustic compression waves have been used successfully to relieve chronic pain. The science behind Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy is the same as lithotripsy, a technology that uses acoustic waves to break up kidney stones with no surgery.

Patients who underwent lithotripsy procedures noticed that their pains and aches reduced significantly, making scientists to consider acoustic waves on other tissue injuries.  Specialized machines were designed to use acoustic waves in other body parts – and MyACT was born.

How Does MyACT Work?

The concept of focused MyACT heals at the speed of sound.  Let us look at the Latin word Myofascial to understand how MyACT works: ‘myo’ meaning muscle and ‘fascia’ meaning band.

Fascia is a connective tissue surrounding bones, organs, muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the body.  In healthy tissue, it’s oriented in an organized wavy pattern that’s parallel to the direction of pull.

When the system experiences scarring, physical trauma or inflammation occurs, it restricts elasticity much more, thus creating pain or tension in the rest of your body. MyACT uses a developed linear and focused pressure waves to pinpoint the affected tissues in your body.

Gel pads used will create different penetration depths ranging from 1mm to 30mm into the target tissues.  The intensity of Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy ranges from 18 different levels measured in mJ/mm2 (millijoules per square millimeter). This technology is FDA registered for care in the US.

What is MyACT Good For?

MyACT can be used in the musculoskeletal system such as pain and myofascial dysfunction associated with trigger points. It defines where to treat – a feature that other treatment modalities don’t offer.

Diagnosis of the pain and the identification of the pain triggering points can be achieved using MyACT. The abnormal musculoskeletal tissue is “flared” with focused MyACT to define the target areas that need treatment.

The process of identifying the origins of pain is guided by a patient through verbal feedback to our Woodstock chiropractor providing the treatment.

What to Expect With MyACT Treatment

1. Our chiropractor identifies the treatment area(s) and develops a treatment plan depending on the objective and subjective findings.
2. Our chiropractor will apply a thin coat of coupling gel to the target area to help translate acoustic sound waves from the sound head to your body.
3. The chiropractor will start treatment at a low-intensity setting and increase power depending on the patient’s tolerance and the treatment area. The acoustic wave frequency and output level will vary depending on the type and location of tissue being treated.
4. The Woodstock chiropractor moves the acoustic sound head around the affected area and focuses on the areas where you elicit a dull ache. You’ll report when you feel the ache, and Dr. Kal will adjust the intensity to a tolerable level. The treatment will be based on your feedback with the chiropractor.
5. Once the treatment is concluded, the chiropractor wipes away the coupling gel, and you will return to your normal daily activities. It’s likely you may experience minor discomfort or aches after the treatment, and it is common for patients to notice a reddened or flushed skin around the treatment area. We advise you to hydrate (20oz more than regular water intake) before and after treatment to flush your body and get rid of toxins.
6. Treatment usually lasts five to twenty minutes or 1000 to 3000 pulses.
7. The frequency of treatment ranges from 7 to 14 days.

• Four to ten treatments may be needed before you achieve lasting improvement.
• With acute pain, a few sessions may be successful.

MyACT Effectively Treats Pain Resulting From:

• Repetitive stress injuries
• Soft tissue strains
• Trigger points
• Sorts related injuries
• Plantar fasciitis
• Occupational injuries
• Adhesions
• Pain in the back, neck, shoulders and buttocks region
• Hip, knee and other leg discomforts
• Chronic pain in transitional regions between muscles and tendons

Most recent independent studies report a success rate of 65% to 95% at reducing the intensity of pain.

Benefits of Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy

• Eliminates adhesions, thus improving range of motion
• Alleviates muscle tightness and pain, improves circulation, and promotes healing
• Focused sound waves for managing chronic and acute pain in muscles, joints, and tendons
• Three to five treatments can achieve a lasting improvement

The PiezoWave2 therapy sources generate the acoustic waves that converge at a point deep in the soft tissue, thus producing an intense, very short duration pressure wave. This focused acoustic compression will translate to the surrounding tissues like a precise therapeutic deep tissue massage.

Contraindications for MyACT

In principle, Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy is hardly contraindicated. The recent information on contraindications is provided in the MyACT Operating Manuals. The manuals for therapy sources developed by Richard Wolf list a few contraindications, including:

• Taking blood thinning medication
• Tumor tissue
• Infections
• Pregnancy
• MyACT shouldn’t be used to treat the head
• Blood clotting disorders (it may be necessary to check the coagulation status of the patient)
• Air-containing organs in the focal area such as the gastrointestinal tract, etc.
• Lung tissue in the focal area

Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy

Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy can ONLY be administered by chiropractors who’ve been trained in the application of MyACT system for medical purposes. Before starting treatment, the chiropractor must decide, depending on the general condition of the patient, whether a planned application is necessary or not.

For further information, please consult Dr. Kal, an experienced Woodstock chiropractor. To schedule a chiropractic consultation in Woodstock, call us today.

Myofascial Acoustic Compression Therapy