The effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound for musculoskeletal conditions of the lower limb: A literature review
One page on PainSci cites Shanks 2010: Does Ultrasound or Shockwave Therapy Work?
PainSci commentary on Shanks 2010: ?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided wherever possible.
An inconclusive review of 10 of 15 candidate trials of ultrasound for lower limb troubles: alas, “no high quality evidence available.” Another pointless review!
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
BACKGROUND: Ultrasound is suggested as one of the treatment options available for soft tissue musculoskeletal conditions of the lower limb and to this end, the objective was to review the literature and evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound for musculoskeletal conditions of the lower limb.
METHODS: A search of the literature published between 1975 and February 2009 was carried out. All studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were quality assessed and scored using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) appraisal tool [1] for randomised controlled trials.
RESULTS: Ten studies out of a possible fifteen were included in the review. Only one trial was considered to be high quality (score 16+), three medium quality trials (score 11-15) were identified and six trials were considered to be low or poor quality (score≤10). None of the six placebo-controlled trials found any statistically significant differences between true and sham ultrasound therapy.
CONCLUSION: This literature review found that there is currently no high quality evidence available to suggest that therapeutic ultrasound is effective for musculoskeletal conditions of the lower limb.
related content
- “Therapeutic ultrasound for osteoarthritis of the knee or hip,” Rutjes et al, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2010.
- “Effect of therapeutic ultrasound on tendons,” Tsai et al, Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 2011.
- “Therapeutic ultrasound for carpal tunnel syndrome,” Page et al, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2013.
- “Therapeutic ultrasound for acute ankle sprains,” van den Bekerom et al, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2011.
- “Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain,” Ebadi et al, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020.
- “The efficacy of therapeutic ultrasound for rotator cuff tendinopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” Desmeules et al, Physical Therapy in Sport, 2015.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Restoring trust in menopause management: menopause hormone therapy is not a panacea, and physical activity remains a critical intervention. Tulloh 2025 Br J Sports Med.
- Common interventional procedures for chronic non-cancer spine pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised trials. Wang 2025 BMJ.
- Gabapentinoids and Risk of Hip Fracture. Leung 2024 JAMA Netw Open.
- Classical Conditioning Fails to Elicit Allodynia in an Experimental Study with Healthy Humans. Madden 2017 Pain Med.
- Topical glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) and eccentric exercises in the treatment of mid-portion achilles tendinopathy (the NEAT trial): a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Kirwan 2024 Br J Sports Med.