Lateral Epicondylitis - Article Example

Unit Summary Paragraph The literature in the article d “Is there evidence that phonophoresis is more effectivethan ultrasound in treating pain associated with lateral epicondylitis?,” reviews a case study of a woman suffering from lateral epicondylitis and how the therapists went about in choosing the best therapeutic approach based on a systematic literature review of the most recent articles addressing the use of ultrasound (US) combined with phonophoresis in the treatment lateral epicondylitis (Hoppenrath & Charles 137).

The patient was diagnosed with lateral epicondylitis resulting from overusing the wrist extensor muscles, which aggravated her tendinopathy. The therapists decided to use their common program for treating the condition, which entailed the use of US, wrist extensor muscle progressive resistance exercise, stretching and cross friction massage (Hoppenrath & Charles 136). Ultra sound was included because two studies in a systematic review with placebo comparison had shown that US had significant clinical improvements in treating lateral epicondylitis.

Since the therapists would e using US, they also decided to find out whether they could use US to transdermally administer anti-inflammatory drugs through the process known as phonophoresis (Hoppenrath & Charles 138). The therapists were interested in determining whether phonophoresis is better than US or whether the addition of some other drug through US treatment (phonophoresis) may help reduce pain in lateral epicondylitis. The studies reviewed in the systematic review revealed that there was no enough evidence to support the alluded fact that adding anti-inflammatory drugs to the coupling medium in phonophoresis would produce additional positive results in treating lateral epicondylitis (Hoppenrath & Charles 139).

As such, the therapists decided to use their common program for treating the condition, which entailed the use of US, wrist extensor muscle progressive resistance exercise, stretching and cross friction massage. In view of this systematic review, I opine that since that there is no strong evidence to support the fact that adding anti-inflammatory drugs to US-phonophoresis-improves care outcomes there is no need to use it. Instead, further research should be conducted to determine whether phonophoresis can actually improve care outcomes in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis through controlled studies.

Works CitedHoppenrath, T. and Charles, D.C. “Is there evidence that phonophoresis is more effective than ultrasound in treating pain associated with lateral epicondylitis?” Physical Therapy Journal, 86. 1 (2006): 136-140. Print