Comparision of the effectiveness of ESWT and ultrasound treatments in myofascial pain syndrome: randomized, sham-controlled study

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study is to compare effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT), ultrasound (US) and sham ESWT in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). [Subjects and Methods] Sixty MPS patients aged 18–60 years were included in the study. The patients were randomized equally into 3 groups. Group 1 received ESWT for 4 session with 3 day-intervals. Group 2 received 4 sessions of sham ESWT. US was applied to Group 3 for 10 sessions. All patients were recommended an exercise program. The patients were evaluated before-post and 6 weeks after treatment. Measurements were made using pressure pain threshold (PPT), pain score (PS) and visual analogue scale (VAS). Patients were evaluated by using SF-36 and HADS (hospital anxiety and depression scale). [Results] A significant posttreatment difference was found in VAS, PPT and SF-36 subparameters in group 1. In group 2, a significant difference was not found in any parameter. In group 3, a significant difference was detected in parameters of VAS and PPT. A significant difference was found between groups 1 and 2 as for subtitles of PPT, VAS, SF-36. [Conclusion] These results suggest that ESWT is as effective as US. ESWT and US are significantly more effective than sham ESWT.

Use of Radial Extracorporeal Shock-Wave Therapy for Musculoskeletal Pain for daily practice: 1,580 Cases

“…The encounter between the next emitted wave and the reflected wave generates a secondary wave of greater intensity than the incident wave [19]. Thus, increasing the frequency of pulse firing increases the number of these secondary waves, resulting in a greater number of cavitations [20,23] and thus a greater therapeutic effect, precisely in the areas related to pain and analgesia, explaining the fact that the higher frequency used in our study increased the magnitude of the analgesic effect in comparison with that obtained with low frequencies by other authors [51,52].…”

“…A study comparing rESWT with therapeutic ultrasound showed that four sessions of rESWT at 2,000-3,000 pulses/session, a pressure of 1.60-3.00 bars, and a frequency of 10 Hz reduced the VAS score by 15.3 mm, compared with only 10.7 mm for therapeutic ultrasound [51]. In another study, involving patients with shoulder tendinitis, seven sessions of rESWT, with a mean pressure of 1.70 bar, mean frequency of 5 Hz, and mean of 2,175 pulses/session, resulted in a 26 mm reduction in the VAS score [52].…”

High-Energy Flux Density Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy Versus Traditional Physical Therapy Modalities in Myofascial Pain Syndrome: A Randomized-controlled, Single-Blind Trial

“…The authors found that three sessions of therapy improved pain compared to a single-session therapy. Consistent with these findings, Akturk et al 29 divided 60 MPS patients into three groups and used L-ESWT for four sessions. They found a statistically significant improvement in pain and SF-36 subscale scores in the ESWT and US groups; however, there was no statistically significant difference in the anxiety and depression scores after treatment.…”

Radial Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy versus Ultrasound Therapy in Adult Patients with Idiopathic Scoliosis

“…The effectiveness of US and SWs has been compared in pathologies such as fibromyalgia/myofascial pain syndrome [ 20 ], plantar fasciitis [ 21 , 22 ], epicondylitis [ 23 , 24 ], and tendonitis of the shoulder [ 25 ], and no significant differences were noted in terms of alleviating pain, increasing the quality of life (using the short form-36 (SF-36)), or improving disability. In our paper, we aim to measure the effectiveness of these two treatment modalities in terms of improving the pain, disability, and quality of life in adult patients with idiopathic scoliosis.…”