In answer to your question I think she is made by Mattel sponsored by Sony
and is called Barbie or at least thats what my daughter calls her ...
with regards to ultrasound there is an excellent example of the beneficial
effects of ultrasound applicable to probably heaps of intervention
strategies .... I will quote the example taken from p130/1 Pain the Science
of Suffering by Patrick Wall Weidenfield and Nicholson 1999 a very
readable book !
'At the Eastman Dental Hospital in London , a team had been working on ways
to help this troublesome
condition ( wisdom - tooth extraction) . Ultrasound has been used for many
years as a physiotherapy treatment for inflammation with the rationale that
deep heat produced by the absorption of the sound would hasten the end of
of the inflammatory process . Despite the fact that five or six trials of
ultrasound on limbs had shown it to be no better than placebo , they
decided to try its effect after tooth extraction. They found it to be highly
effective . Then , in double blind fashion, they massaged the face w ith
the ultrasound machine in some patients with the machine switched off and
others with it working , unknown the doctors or patients.. There was no
difference between the two groups . Next , they tested whether the massage
was having the effect and trained the patients to do it themselves in the
way the doctor moved the machine. This self administered massage had no
effect . Up to this point they had shown a typical placebo effect in which
a doctor in a white coat massaging the face with an impressive machine had
a marked effect irrespective of whether the machine was switched off or on.
Furthermore , there was no effect if the patient applied the machine . The
pain was reduced by Dr applied treatment.
They went further . The swelling of the face was markedly reduced and the
ability to open the mouth was improved . This placebo effect was the same
as that of a substantial dose of anti- inflammatory steroid.
Evidently the placebo response required a doctor in a white coat with an
impressive machine , and this combination improved not only the patients
subjective report , but two objective signs of inflammation that are
usually assigned to mechanical body processes . The rational explanation is
that the brain affects hormones , which in turn affect inflammation.'
I hope this is of some use and may explain why ultrasound and many other
impressive treatments are 'just the thing' for some people. In our
technologically/gadget orientated society I am sure these types of
treatments will always have a role in 'the right environment' coupled with
age old traditional rehabilitation protocols.....
just a thought......
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