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Ultrasound – clinical evidence
Independent reviews by 537 Giulia Letizia Mauro 1,†, Dalila Scaturro 1,(2021) 539 Lucas Ogura Dantasa, Mikala C. Osanic , (2021) and 543Fu-AnYang , Hung-Lun Chen , (2022) looked at the use of ultrasound in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee and all found it to be both safe and effective –reducing pain and improving function. This further supports earlier data from controlled trials 505,506,507.
533Paolini and Tavernese (2015) found that ultrasound was effective at reducing the pain and improving the function of patients suffering with carpal tunnel syndrome. Improvements in pain and function were seen after just 6 treatments and the benefits persisted 3 months after treatment. The ultrasound was delivered at 1MHz with an intensity of 1.0 W/cm2 pulsed 1:4 for 15 minutes (5 sessions per week for 3 consecutive weeks). This study compared pulsed ultrasound with extracorporeal shockwave therapy and found both options to be equally effective when treating carpal tunnel syndrome. Given the higher cost of ESWT devices and the higher level of discomfort experienced by the patient during ESWT treatment, the use of pulsed ultrasound seems to offer a more suitable option.
Similarly, 545ÖZMEN (2021) and 546Yalvac (2018) – both compared ultrasound and extracorporeal shock wave therapy in lateral epicondylitis and both studies found that ultrasound and ESWT were equally effective at reducing pain and improving function. 553
KZ Fouda (2023) performed a randomized clinical trial to investigate the use of ultrasound and ESWT to treat Plantar Fasciitis and compared them with each other and also with combined use of both modalities. They found that both treatments were equally effective at reducing pain and improving range of movement (ROM) but that the effectiveness was improved by 20 – 30% by providing both therapies (one after the other – NOT simultaneously).