Effect of Therapeutic Ultrasound Versus Anti-inflammatory Drugs in the Treatment of Trigger finger. A placebo randomized-controlled trial.

Authors

Eslam Elsayed Ali Shohda, Department of physical therapy, Al-ahrar teaching hospital, zagazig, Egypt.Phd.PT.Follow

Abstract

Background: Trigger finger (TF) is a painful disorder that hinders the use of the entire hand. One of the most widely used modalities in the field of physiotherapy is therapeutic ultrasound (US); however, no randomized control trial has investigated the use of US in the treatment of TF. The objective of this trail is to determine the effect of therapeutic US on pain intensity and the frequency of daily finger clicking in patients with TF. Materials and Methods: A single-blind, randomized (1:1), placebo-controlled, clinical trial was conducted at a physiotherapy outpatient clinic at Alahrar Teaching Hospital in Zagazig, Egypt. Twenty TF patients (group A) received daily US treatment for 6 sessions (continuous,1 W/cm2, 1 MHz and 5 min). Twenty TF patients (group B) received a sham US (3 min) plus oral anti-inflammatory medication. Results: There was a significant decrease in pain after treatment compared to before treatment within group A (P=0.001) and group B (P=0.046). Moreover, there was a significant decrease in clicking after treatment compared to before treatment within group A (P=0.002), while group B showed a nonsignificant decrease in clicking (P=0.083). These significant decreases in pain and clicking post treatment are favorable for patients in group A compared with group B. Additionally, group A experienced decreases in pain and clicking of 60.00% and 65.39%, respectively, compared with group B, which had decreases of 3.97% and 4.54%. Conclusion: Our results suggest that daily application of therapeutic US for 6 sessions may be a favorable treatment option for trigger finger, providing greater pain relief and potentially reducing clicking more effectively than anti-inflammatory drugs.

Article Type

Original Study

Subject Area

Physical Therapy

IRB Number

HAH00010

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Shohda, Eslam Elsayed Ali (2026) "Effect of Therapeutic Ultrasound Versus Anti-inflammatory Drugs in the Treatment of Trigger finger. A placebo randomized-controlled trial.," Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research: Vol. 9: Iss. 1, Article 16.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59299/2537-0928.1486