Effect of the ultrasound treatment on thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis

PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of ultrasound treatment on pain, muscle strength and functional state in thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty patients who applied to the outpatient clinics of Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine, with a complaint of thumb joint pain and/or deformity, and were diagnosed clinically and radiographically as first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis, were included in the study. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups. One group received ultrasound while the other group received sham ultrasound as a placebo five minutes, five days a week for three weeks. The patients were evaluated before treatment, at the end of the treatment and six weeks after the end of the treatment. Evaluation parameters were pain at rest and pain with movement assessed by visual analog scale (VAS), pinch strength by pinchmeter, grip strength by Jamar hand dynamometer, and function by AUSCAN hand osteoaarthritis index.RESULTS: Both groups showed significant improvements in pain at rest and pain at movement at the end of treatment and at sixth week. In the ultrasound group, pain scores at rest and with movement were statistically significantly lower than the placebo group at the end of the treatment; while pain score with movement was statistically significantly lower than the placebo group at sixth week. Grip strength improved significantly only in the ultrasound group at sixth week. Pulp-to-pulp pinch and chuck pinch strength significantly increased at the end of the treatment and at sixth week in the ultrasound group while these parameters significantly increased at sixth week in the placebo ultrasound group. When the goups were compared, there were no significant differences in pinch strength measurements at any time. AUSCAN total score improved significantly in the ultrasound group at the end of treatment and sixth week. When the groups were compared, AUSCAN total score was significantly better than the placebo group both at the end of treatment and at sixth week. AUSCAN function score was significantly better than the placebo group at sixth week.CONCLUSION: Ultrasound treatment is effective on pain, grip strength and functional state in patients with thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis.Key words: Thumb carpometacarpal joint, osteoarthritis, ultrasoun