Data were pooled from three high quality, placebo-controlled trials in 185 patients looking at outcomes over 4 to 8 weeks. Evidence suggests that ultrasound may be of benefit for treating tennis elbow. Soft-tissue shoulder disorders. None of the seven trials showed any benefit of ultrasound over control. This included five placebo comparisons, three no-treatment comparison, and three active comparisons.
Evidence suggests that there is no benefit of ultrasound for soft-tissue shoulder disorders.
Degenerative rheumatic disorders. Ten trials were identified. These trials were mainly active comparisons, and findings were mixed. However, trials were of insufficient size to measure this adequately, and quality of trials was poor. There is therefore a lack of evidence for ultrasound in this area.