Therapeutic modalities--an updated review for the hand surgeon.
The number of therapeutic modalities available to the hand surgeon has greatly increased over the past several decades. A field once predicated only on heat, massage, and cold therapy now uses electrical stimulators, ultrasound, biofeedback, iontophoresis, phonophoresis, mirror therapy, lasers, and a number of other modalities. With this expansion in choices, there has been a concurrent effort to better define which modalities are truly effective. In this review, we aim to characterize the commonly used modalities and provide the evidence available that supports their continued use.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Box 9569902, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6902, USA. tristanhartzell@gmail.com
Tristan L
TL
Hartzell
Roee
R
Rubinstein
Mojca
M
Herman
D000529:Complementary Therapies; D006230:Hand Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities