The effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound for musculoskeletal conditions of the lower limb: A literature review
One article on PainSci cites Shanks 2010: Does Ultrasound 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,” Anne Ws Rutjes, Eveline Nüesch, Rebekka Sterchi, and Peter Jüni, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2010.
- “Effect of therapeutic ultrasound on tendons,” Wen-Chung Tsai, Sf-T Tang, and Fang-Chen Liang, Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 2011.
- “Therapeutic ultrasound for carpal tunnel syndrome,” Matthew J Page, Denise O’Connor, Veronica Pitt, and Nicola Massy-Westropp, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2013.
- “Therapeutic ultrasound for acute ankle sprains,” Michel Pj van den Bekerom, Daniëlle Awm van der Windt, Gerben Ter Riet, Geert J van der Heijden, and Lex M Bouter, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2011.
- “Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low-back pain,” Safoora Ebadi, Nicholas Henschke, Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari, Ehsan Fallah, and Maurits W van Tulder, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014.
- “The efficacy of therapeutic ultrasound for rotator cuff tendinopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” François Desmeules, Jennifer Boudreault, Jean-Sébastien Roy, Clermont Dionne, Pierre Frémont, and Joy C MacDermid, 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:
- No long-term effects after a three-week open-label placebo treatment for chronic low back pain: a three-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Kleine-Borgmann 2022 Pain.
- Exercise and education versus saline injections for knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled equivalence trial. Bandak 2022 Ann Rheum Dis.
- Association of Lumbar MRI Findings with Current and Future Back Pain in a Population-based Cohort Study. Kasch 2022 Spine (Phila Pa 1976).
- A double-blinded randomised controlled study of the value of sequential intravenous and oral magnesium therapy in patients with chronic low back pain with a neuropathic component. Yousef 2013 Anaesthesia.
- Is Neck Posture Subgroup in Late Adolescence a Risk Factor for Persistent Neck Pain in Young Adults? A Prospective Study. Richards 2021 Phys Ther.