Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory phonophoresis versus topical application in improvement of hand grip strength in psoriatic arthritic patients

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of ibuprofen phonophresis versus topical application of ibuprofen in improvement of hand grip strength in psoriatic arthritic patients. Methods: Forty patients who had asymmetrical psoriatic arthritis in hand participated in this study. Their ages ranged from 30 to 50 years. Patients were classified randomly into two groups of equal numbers; group (1) (control group) received routine physical therapy (hot therapy, stretching and strengthening exercises), in addition to sham ibuprofen phonophoresis, while group (2) (studied group): received routine physical therapy, in addition to ibuprofen phonophoresis. Each patient was evaluated for grip strength, tender and swollen joint count before and after one month of treatment. The results revealed that there was a significant difference between both groups regarding to grip strength, tender and swollen joint count, with the percentage of improvement in group 1 were 56%, 54%, and 55% ,while in group 2 were 82%, 80% and 76% respectively. It is concluded that the results of the current study confirms the effectiveness of phonophoresis as a therapeutic modality enhancing the delivery of ibuprofen so increasing the percentage of improvement of grip strength in the studied group . [Amal M. Abd El Baky and Intsar S. Waked. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory phonophoresis versus topical application in improvement of hand grip strength in psoriatic arthritic patients. Journal of American Science 2011; 7(6): 110-114].(ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.americanscience.org.