Role of Ultrasound Therapy in the Healing of Tibial Stress Fractures.

BACKGROUND: Stress fracture is the single most common cause for the lost number of manpower days during training. The conventional treatment options begin with rest and cessation of precipitating activity. However the demands of military training provide little tolerance for prolonged periods of rest. In the recent past ultrasound therapy (UST) has been reported to speed up healing of stress fractures.
METHODS: In the present study, a total of 67 cases of stress fracture were studied for the effect of ultrasound therapy on healing time. Study protocol used was double blind placebo controlled. RESULT: Study results showed that the mean number of days of incapacitation was 25.46 days in the ultrasound treatment group as compared to 39.92 in the placebo group, a difference of 14 days, which was statistically highly significant.
CONCLUSION: The results of the study convincingly prove that ultrasound treatment is effective in cases of stress fracture.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes