Comparative study between shock wave therapy and electromagnetic waves on pain and function in patients with lumbar disc prolapse A randomized controlled trial:

Abstract

Background: Low back pain has been reported to affect about 84% of adults at different points during their lives. Intervertebral disc degeneration is a common disease of the discs which connect each two adjoining vertebrae as structural damage causes degeneration of the disc and also the surrounding area. Aim of the work: Comparing the effects of shock wave therapy (ESWT) and electromagnetic field on pain severity functional abilities on elderly patients with lumbar disc prolapse (LDP). Subject and method: 48 elderly patients with lumbar disc of both sexes aging from 55 to 75 years contributed in this study. They were randomly assigned to three groups (one control group and two study groups). The control group A received conventional physical therapy only. Study group B received electromagnetic waves plus conventional physical therapy (Moist hot pack, transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS), exercises), study group C received shock wave plus conventional physical therapy. Primary outcome were pain assessment assessed by Visual analogue scale (VAS) and assessment of functional disability assessed by Oswestry disability index (ODI), all outcomes measures were assessed for each patient pre and post four weeks of treatment program in the three groups (3 sessions / week). Results: There was no significant difference in all measured variables (VAS and ODI) between group I and III post four weeks of the treatment (p > 0.05). While there was a significant decrease in all measured variables in B in comparison with that of group A post treatment (p < 0.05) and in group B in comparison with that of group C post treatment (p < 0.05) regarding to pain variable only. Conclusions: The results showed that both electromagnetic and shock wave have similar effect on functional disability in patients with lumbar discogenic lesion. While, electromagnetic is more effective to improve pain than shock wave.