NCT03835182

Efficacy of Ultrasound Versus Short Wave Diathermy in the Treatment of a Slipped Disc of the Lower Back

Efficacy of Ultrasound Versus Short Wave Diathermy in the Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation: a Randomised Control Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 82 (actual)
• Sponsor: Baskent University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 20 Years – 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Chronic low back pain is a common problem which results in reduced functionality, quality of life and general well being. Conservative treatment includes patient education, exercise, maintaining a healthy body mass index and appropriate modifications to activities of daily living. Physical modalities are used to support the mainstay of treatment and include superficial heat, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), ultrasound, short wave diathermy , traction, and complimentary therapies. In the clinical practice of the investigators, diathermy, in the form of ultrasound and short wave, is used to heat deeper tissues, increase tissue elasticity and metabolic rate and reduce pain and muscle spasm. The medical literature to date states that further studies are required to compare the efficacy of different diathermy modalities in the treatment of lower back pain. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of ultrasound to that of short wave diathermy and a treatment program which does not include diathermy in the treatment of a slipped disc.

Detailed description

Chronic lumbar pain is a common problem which results in reduced functionality, quality of life and well being. Chronic low back pain also results in many missed days of work and so is an economic burden as well as a social one. Subacute and chronic conservative treatment of low back pain secondary to a herniated disc of the lower back includes education, lifestyle modifications, and maintenance of a normal body mass index. Physical therapy includes range of motion, strengthening and aerobic exercises alongside use of physical therapy modalities such as superficial heating, low frequency analgesic modalities such as TENS and deep heating modalities such as ultrasonic waves and short wave diathermy. In Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation departments in Turkey, diathermy is commonly used as an adjunct to exercise in the inpatient treatment of disc herniation of the lumbar region. However, systematic reviews of the effects of diathermy in the form of ultrasound and short wave emphasise the necessity for further studies of their efficacy in the treatment of pain and impact on functionality and quality of life. Therefore, in this study the investigators aim to compare the efficacy of ultrasound and short wave diathermy in treating pain, improving disability and quality of life in patients with chronic low back pain secondary to disc herniation of the lumbar vertebrae.

Conditions

• Radiculopathy
• Low Back Pain, Mechanical
• Herniated Disk Lumbar

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Ultrasound group	Ultrasound 1 MHz, 1.5 W/cm2 for a total of 10 min applied to the lower back
DEVICE	Short wave diathermy group	SWD frequency of 27.12MHz applied in continuous mode (thermic) applied to the lower back for twenty minutes
OTHER	Control group	superficial heat, analgesic physical modality and exercise only

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-09-14
• Primary completion: 2021-12-31
• Completion: 2021-12-31
• First posted: 2019-02-08
• Last updated: 2023-11-21

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)