For over a year, the scientific research community has been embroiled in a controversy surrounding one of its most important tools: ultrasonic cavitation. Developed in the 1960s, cavitation is a process by which a machine creates hundreds or thousands of pocket-bubble-like vesicles in your body’s tissues, which then violently collapse. This collapse leads to the destruction of your body’s cells and ultimately tears through healthy tissue, forcing it to rebuild itself. Research suggests that cavitation is at least somewhat responsible for the rejuvenating effects of prolotherapy, among other things.
What is cavitation?
Cavitation is a quick, simple treatment performed by injecting your body’s tissues with ultrasound energy. This ultra-compressed sound energy releases cavitational bubbles that create micro-streams of destruction through your tissues. The cavitational bubbles’ collapse tear apart the tissue and stimulate:
- Rejuvenation: Prolotherapy, wherein sterile saline and dextrose (sugar) and local anesthetics are injected into areas of chronic pain and/or degeneration.
- Inflammation: Chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, and hyaluronic acid supplements that reduce joint pain and stiffness.
- Muscle stimulation: Intramuscular injections containing creatine phosphate as a cell volumizer and moisturizer.
- Skin rejuvenation: Hypertonic saline with dextrose injections known as ‘sclerotherapy’, which is used to reduce the appearance of spider veins on your legs.
This cavitation process is also known by many other names, most notably cavitation or cavitation therapy. This treatment can be used to treat any tissue.
How does it work?
Cavitation works by sending sound waves through a flexible tube called a transducer. The cavitational bubbles are created by placing a specific frequency on top of the cavitation treatment solution, which creates cavities within your tissues known as vesicles. These cavities collapse and have been hypothesized to stimulate collagen production that remodels tissue back into its original shape.
Cavitation has been called the cavitational equivalent of “vibrations on steroids.”
Why do people get cavitation treatments?
Cavitation therapy is used to treat a wide variety of conditions and symptoms, including:
- Knee pain, arthritis, and osteoarthritis
- Back pain and herniated discs
- Neck pain and stenosis
- Tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, and golfer’s elbow
- Scar tissue build-up due to injuries, infections, surgeries, or radiation treatments.
Cavitation cavities are also used for physiotherapy purposes because the cavitational bubbles make cavitation more effective at breaking apart scar tissue. Cavitation is twice as effective at breaking down scar tissue in comparison with traditional therapies.
Which treatment should you go for – 40k or 80k?
Cavitation machines range in prices, speed (k-values), cavities or bubbles per second, frequencies, pulse widths, cavitational energies levels, and treatment times.
The two most popular cavitation models are the 35 kHz Model 2140 IS Sono Therapeutics cavitation machine at $2590 and the 40 kHz Model 3000 cavitation machine at $3195. A cavitation treatment lasts for about 15 to 30 minutes and can be done about two weeks apart. Both of these cavitation machines send sound waves every 0.5 milliseconds with a power output of 200 kPa (kilo-pascals) for the Model 2140 IS Sono Therapy cavitation machine and 220 kPa for the Model 3000 cavitation machine.
Based on cavitational energies, cavitational frequencies, cavitational pulses, cavitational amplitudes, cavitational bubble counts per pulse/second/area, and cavitational pressure:
- 40k has stronger cavitation than 80k: The cavitational bubbles released by the 40 kHz cavitation machine have a cavitational pressure of 220 kPa, which is stronger than the cavitational bubbles released by the cavitation machine at 35k with a cavitational pressure of 200 kPa.
- The cavitations from 40k are more powerful: One adverse effect of cavitational frequencies below 80 kHz is that cavitational pressures can sometimes disrupt cavitational bubbles, causing cavitation to occur within the cavitations. Because cavitational energies of 40 kHz cavitation are stronger, they have a lower potential for disrupting cavitational bubbles and causing cavitation inside cavitations.
- 40k has more cavities per second: The Model 2140 IS Sono Therapy cavitation machine at 35 kHz cavitation has a cavitation bubble count of 400 cavities per second, while the Model 3000 cavitation machine at 40 kHz cavitation has a cavitation bubble count of 750 cavities per second.
- The cavitations from 40k are more efficient: Because the cavitational energies from the 40 kHz frequency are stronger and there is a higher cavitation bubble count per cavitation, cavitational energies from 40 kHz cavitations are more efficient and cavitations only last about 0.1 milliseconds (one-tenth of a millisecond).
Cavitation bubbles that occur within cavitations have been hypothesized to cause the most damage because the cavitational bubbles inside cavitations can collide with each other, causing cavitational shock waves that can lead to cavitation rupture.
- 40k cavitations are more effective against scar tissue: The cavitational pressures of the 40 kHz cavitations (220 kPa) are stronger than all cavitational pressure ranges for cavitations below 80 kHz, except 200 – 520 kPa at 30 – 50 kHz cavitation.
- 80k cavitations are better at breaking up scar tissue: For cavitational frequencies of 30 – 50 kHz, cavitational pressures range from 200 – 520 kPa with a cavitational bubble count of 5 – 20 cavities per pulse/second/area, which is stronger than the cavitational bubbles at 40 kHz. However, cavitational pressures at cavitational frequencies of 30 – 50 kHz are still strong enough to disrupt cavitational bubbles inside cavitations, causing cavitation pressure shock waves.
No one cavitation frequency is better than another when it comes to breaking up scar tissue for cavitational frequencies below 80 kHz because the cavitating bubbles themselves are damaging due to cavitation bubbles colliding within cavitations and cavitations that occur inside cavitations.
The best cavitation frequencies for breaking up scar tissue are in the range of 30 – 50 kHz because cavitational frequencies have strong cavitational energies with a relatively low potential for causing cavitation pressure shock waves, which can damage surrounding tissues.
What are the benefits of each treatment?
- 40 kHz cavitations are more powerful: cavitational energies from cavitation frequencies below 80 kHz.
- 40 kHz cavitations are more efficient: cavitational bubbles from cavitation frequencies below 80 kHz, except 200 – 520 kPa at 30 – 50 kHz cavitation.
- 40k cavitations are more effective against scar tissue: the cavitational pressures of cavitation frequencies below 80 kHz, except 200 – 520 kPa at 30 – 50 kHz cavitation.
- 80k cavitations are better at breaking up scar tissue: cavitational frequencies from 30 – 50 kHz have cavitations that have cavitational energies as strong as the cavitations from a 40kHz cavitation machine to break up cavitations.
The cavitation frequencies that are most effective at breaking up scar tissue range from 30 – 50 kHz because cavitational frequencies this frequency have strong cavitational energies and cavitations only last about 0.1 milliseconds (one-tenth of a millisecond).
- The cavitations from 40k cavitation bubbles: Because of cavitational energies from cavitation frequencies below 80 kHz, except 200 – 520 kPa at 30 – 50 kHz cavitation.
- 40k cavitations are more effective against scar tissue: cavitational pressures of cavitation frequencies below 80 kHz, except 200 – 520 kPa at 30 – 50 kHz cavitation.
No one cavitation frequency is better than another cavitation frequency when it comes to breaking up scar tissue cavitation frequencies below 80 kHz because cavitations only last about 0.1 milliseconds (one-tenth of a millisecond) and cavitational pressures are similar for cavitation frequencies below 80 kHz, except 200 – 520 kPa at 30 – 50 kHz cavitation.
Conclusion:
cavitation frequencies that are most effective at breaking up scar tissue cavitations only last about 0.1 milliseconds (one-tenth of a millisecond) and cavitational pressures are similar for cavitation frequencies below 80 kHz, except 200 – 520 kPa at 30 – 50 kHz cavitation.
