I felt what seemed like shock waves going through my head during ultherapy to lift my brows. Is this a normal side effect?

Hi T,Ultherapy on the forhead is used to lift the eyebrows.  Many patients experience a feeling of electrical shocks in certain areas which may correspond to the sensory nerves.  The ultrasound pulses may hit the skull causing discomfort as well.  There is sometimes a residual feeling on the top of the head for a few weeks that always has gone away eventually.  The good news is that external ultrasound waves have been proven to help depressed patients feel better.  You need not be concerned about the sensations that you felt during your Ultherapy treatment.  Good luck and be well.Dr. P

Ultherapy is a great, non-invasive alternative for a browlift. It is common for some patients to experience discomfort during the treatment, especially a shockwave through the scalp. The sensation is due to the ultrasound pulsations coming in contact with the sensory nerves above the brow. This may cause a feeling similar to an electric shock shooting up and to the back of the scalp. The shock generally resolves after the treatment and there a no residual side effects afterwards.

It is very normal to fell those "shock waves" or zingers when you have Ultherapy to lift your brows.  The skin on the forehead is thin and the sensory nerves to the forehead and scalp travel form about the line of the pupil up under the skin.  The energy for the Ultherapy treatment can heat these nerves causing those "shock waves" and can lead to some tingling or numb spots on the scalp for a few weeks.  This is totally normal and a temporary side effect of the treatment.

Ulthera on the forehead is a pretty uncomfortable procedure.  There is very little fatty tissue here which makes the treatment more sensitive.  You will feel like the pulses are hitting the bone which they probably are.  This is what would have caused the shockwave sensation you felt.  The ultrasound waves do not penetrate the bone, so this would not affect your brain.    

There are some sensory nerves under the skin above the brows that may feel some of the ultrasound waves from the Ultherapy treatment, and this could cause a type of shooting shock wave sensation.  There should not be any damage caused by this effect during the treatment.  I would recommend contacting the physician who treated you to let him or her know about your issue though.  

Ultherapy power settings should be decreased when patients experience these sensations of 'shock waves or tingling in the forehead and scalp' during the procedure. If patients experience sensations, which are rare with the new programming modules on the current generation device, I reduce the energy settings.I hope that this sensation goes away in your case. You may want to see a neurologist for guidance. Read the Ultherapy ebook on the link below. It is a free access book.

Dear TDFSmith,It is a
common complaint during Ultherapy treatment to the brow area. It comes from the fact that a lot of the sensory nerves that are responsible for sensation in your scalp run from back of the head to the front and some from front to back. When one of these
nerves is stimulated from the ultrasound energy, you may feel a little bit of
sensation or tingling in the back of your head.
This is nothing to be concerned about. You should not have any long term side effects.

The sensation of "shock waves" in the scalp is caused by the Ultherapy striking tiny sensory nerves in or under the skin. I have had the procedure myself including my forehead and felt like "sparks" were firing in my scalp above the area of the forehead being treated. This occurred two to three times during the treatment.
There is nothing to be concerned about and there will not be any kind of long term issues resulting from the tiny nerves being stimulated.