ArticleBrazilian journal of physical therapy
Effects of underwater ultrasound therapy on pain, inflammation, hand function and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis - a randomized controlled trial.
Article in Brazilian journal of physical therapy. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02706028 (Effects of Underwater Ultrasound Therapy on Hand Function and Quality of Life in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis - a Randomized Controlled Study), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of Underwater Ultrasound Therapy on Hand Function and Quality of Life in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis - a Randomized Controlled Study
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exercise for rheumatoid arthritis of the hand.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Combined effect of underwater ultrasound and custom-made insoles in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled trial.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Trial
- Prospects for Physical Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Literature Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Emerging trends in the management of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis: targeted treatments and non-pharmacological interventions.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- Elderly Hip Osteoarthritis: A Review of Short-Term Pain Relief Through Non-Weight-Bearing Therapies.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Review
- Efficiency of therapeutic underwater ultrasound therapy in mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome: A randomized sham-controlled study.Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2023Article
- Non-pharmacological treatment in difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Review
- Comparative Analysis of the Effect of Two Therapeutic Ultrasound Protocols for Regeneration of a Critical Bone Defect.Revista brasileira de ortopedia · 2020Article
- Efficacy and safety of novel low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) in treating mild to moderate erectile dysfunction: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled clinical study.Translational andrology and urology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo investigate the effects of underwater ultrasound (US) therapy in 48 patients with moderately active rheumatoid arthritis (disease activity score in 28 joints [DAS28]>3.2 and<5.1).
methodsPatients randomly assigned to the ultrasound group (n=25) received underwater continuous ultrasound therapy to both wrists and hands for 7min per session with an intensity of 0.7W/cm
resultsA significant decrease in C-reactive protein at the end of Week 2 and Week 14 compared to control group (mean between-group difference at 2 weeks=-5.77, 95% CI=-10.86 to -0.68, mean between-group difference at 14 weeks=-5.07, 95% CI=-10.13 to -0.01), and non-significant decrease in DAS28 was observed. By the end of treatments at the end of week 2, ultrasound alleviated pain significantly (mean between-group difference at two weeks=-8.35 95% CI=-16.12 to -0.58), as well as improved left wrist extension compared to the control group (mean between-group difference at 14 weeks=4.35, 95% CI=1.09-7.60).
conclusionUnderwater ultrasound therapy was better than sham treatment at the end of 2 weeks of treatment, but not at long term (14 weeks) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02706028 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02706028).
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