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Effectiveness of Therapeutic Ultrasound in Adhesive Capsulitis.  Fall 2008

OBJECTIVE: There is a lack of evidence about the effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound (US) compared with placebo US in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis. This study was performed to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic US in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis.

CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that US compared with sham US gives no relevant benefit in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis. Effectiveness of US might be masked by worse pre-treatment values of the US group and higher exercise compliance of the sham US group.

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The Efficacy of Intermittent Cervical Traction in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain.  Fall 2008

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies about the usefulness of traction therapy have concluded with conflicting results. The aim of this study was to examine its efficacy in chronic neck pain.

CONCLUSION: No specific effect of traction over standard physiotherapeutic interventions was observed in adults with chronic neck pain. We suggest the clinicians to consider this condition and to focus on exercise therapy in the management of patients suffering from this condition.

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Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound for Chronic Patellar Tendinopathy: a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial  Fall 2008

OBJECTIVE: Patellar tendinopathy (PT) is a common and significant clinical condition for which there are few established interventions. One intervention that is currently being used clinically to manage PT symptoms is the introduction of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS). The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of LIPUS in the management of PT symptoms.

CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that LIPUS does not provide any additional benefit over and above placebo in the management of symptoms associated with PT.

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Effects of Low-Level Laser Therapy and Eccentric Exercises in the Treatment of Recreational Athletes With Chronic Achilles Tendinopathy  Summer 2008

BACKGROUND: Eccentric exercises (EEs) are recommended for the treatment of Achilles tendinopathy, but the clinical effect from EE has a slow onset. Hypothesis: The addition of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) to EE may cause more rapid clinical improvement.

CONCLUSION: Low-level laser therapy, with the parameters used in this study, accelerates clinical recovery from chronic Achilles tendinopathy when added to an EE regimen. For the LLLT group, the results at 4 weeks were similar to the placebo LLLT group results after 12 weeks.

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Impact of Continuous Low Level Heatwrap Therapy in Acute Low Back Pain Patients: Subjective and Objective Measurements.  Spring 2008

Objective: Muscular pain is usually associated with increased muscle tension resulting in a vicious tension-pain-cycle, leading to increased alertness and stress. However, this has not been broadly evaluated using objective methods, for example, looking at neurophysiologic changes. The focus of this study was, therefore, to combine objective [spontaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) as a surrogate of alertness and stress] with subjective parameters (self-assessed pain affected variables) to investigate the effect of continuous low-level heat therapy in low back pain (LBP)-patients.

Discussion: In addition to classic psychophysical assessment of pain-related parameters and sleep quality, performance in daily life, we were able to obtain objective measures (EEG) that suggest an acute therapeutic relaxation on the basis of the central nervous system effects accompanying the reported significant pain relief. We believe that this was due to a reduced nociceptive information load in LBP-patients after the use of the heatwrap therapy.

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Lidocaine iontophoresis mediates analgesia in lateral epicondylalgia treatment.  Winter 2006
Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the clinical use of lidocaine iontophoresis-mediated analgesia in a larger treatment algorithm for five patients with lateral humeralepicondylalgia.
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Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis by Low-Dye Taping and Iontophoresis--Short-Term results of a Double Blinded, Randomised, Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial of Dexamethasone and Acetic Acid.  Summer 2006
Objective: To determine if in the short term acetic acid and dexamethasone iontophoresis combined with low-Dye taping are effective in treating the symptoms of plantar fasciitis.
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Use of Ultrasound to Increase Effectiveness of Isokinetic Exercise for Knee Osteoarthritis.  Fall 2005
Objective: To investigate the effects of ultrasound in isokinetic muscle strengthening exercises on functional status of patients with knee osteoarthritis.
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The Effect of Home Biofeedback Training on Stress Incontinence  Spring 2005
Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of biofeedback in pelvic floor training for treatment of stress urinary incontinence.
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Iontophoretic Administration of Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate for Acute Epicondylitis. A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study  Winter 2005
Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of dermal iontophoretic administration of dexamethasone sodium phosphate compared with a placebo of saline for the treatment of acute epicondylitis. (Requires site registration for full text.)
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