However, the use of cold, compression, and elevation are a beneficial combination if you have swelling. In the acute treatment of a collateral ligament injury, the stimulation can ease pain and help remove swelling. It is often used in combination with ice in the early stages and heat in the later stages of recovery. This treatment stimulates nerves by sending an electrical current gently through your skin. Some people say it feels like sort of like a massage on their skin.
Electrical stimulation can ease pain by sending impulses that are felt instead of pain.
Once the pain eases, muscles that are in spasm begin to relax, letting you move and exercise with less discomfort. An ultrasound machine produces high frequency sound waves that are directed toward the sore area. Passing through the body's tissues, these waves vibrate molecules. This causes friction and warmth as the sound passes through the tissue. The rest of the sound changes to heat in the deeper tissues of the body.