Pulsed Radio Frequency Energy as Physical Therapy

Pulsed Radio Frequency Energy as Physical Therapy CHAPTER V DISCUSSION Many adults with vascular disease and/or diabetes suffer with chronic leg or foot ulcers, leading to loss of functional ability, poor quality of life and long term ill-health. Studies on patients with chronic leg ulcers have reported the average duration of these ulcers is around 12-13 months, around 60-70% of patients have recurring ulcers, 24% of patients are hospitalized because of the ulcers and most people suffer from the condition for an average of 15 or more years. Care for chronic wounds is reported to cost 2-3% of total health care spending in developed countries and these costs are set to rise with ageing populations. Treatment in the U.S. costs over 3 billion $US and the loss of over 2 million workdays a year. Similarly, Harding quotes a cost of  £400 million each year in the U.K. In Australia, wound dressings are the second most frequent procedure in General Practitioner practice and chronic wound care accounts for 22-50% of community nursing time in the UK and Australi a (Edwards et al.,2013). In addition to direct health care costs, chronic wounds are associated with hidden burdens on the community resulting from loss of mobility, decreased functional ability, social isolation and loss of participation in the workforce and society (Price and Krasner, 2012). The use of pulsed radio-frequency electromagnetic field (PEMF), also termed pulsed radiofrequency energy (PRFE) therapy has shown notable success in healing of chronic wounds. PEMF is a non-ionising energy at the shortwave radiofrequency band of the electromagnetic spectrum, commonly at a frequency of 27.12MHz. Since the introduction of PEMF  Ã‚  Ã‚   in the 1950s, clinical studies on healing of chronic wounds and surgical recovery, as well orthopaedic studies have documented PEMF as a successful clinical therapy. PEMF therapy is none invasive and is delivered through the wound dressing, and to date has shown no unwanted side effects. With positive reports in the literature documenting PEMF as an effective therapy, its wider adoption as an adjunct therapy seems warranted (Rawe,2012). The measurement of wound dimension is an important component of successful wound management. Monitoring changes in wound area allows assessment of treatment efficacy and early detection of stasis or deterioration. The photographic method is an accurate alternative to digital planimetry system (Visitrak TM ) for measuring wound area. The photographic method is a more appropriate technique for clean and uncontaminated wounds, as contact with the wound bed is avoided (Chang et al.,2011). This study investigated the efficacy of pulsed radio frequency energy as physical therapy modality in the treatment of chronic lower limb ulcers through reducing wound surface area (WSA) and wound volume. The findings of this study indicated significant decrease in WSA after treatment in both groups A and B (P