Ultrasound

Hi everyone,

I previously did a musculoskeletal outpatients placement where I had seen many patients post TKR. One of the main problems these patients faced was with reduced ROM due to increased swelling. In order to reduce swelling my supervisor at the prac suggested supra-patella US to reduce intra-articular swelling. My Curtin tutor then questioned the safety of this technique re the metal implant and possiblity of burning the patient. The parameters that we were using were 1 MHz, 1 W/cm2, Cont, 8 min duration. My supervisor and tutor had a good working relationship and in the end discussed and came to a conclusion that it would be safe to perform. This was just based upon our own reasoning however. I was wondering what your thoughts are or if anybody is aware of any research regarding this situation.

Cheers
Brent