Extracorporeal shock wave treatment in foot and ankle fracture non-unions - A review

Iris H Y Kwok; Edmund Ieong; Mosaab A Aljalahma; Anil Haldar; Matthew Welck

doi:10.1016/j.foot.2021.101889

Extracorporeal shock wave treatment in foot and ankle fracture non-unions - A review

Foot (Edinb). 2022 May:51:101889. doi: 10.1016/j.foot.2021.101889. Epub 2021 Dec 10.

Authors

Iris H Y Kwok¹, Edmund Ieong², Mosaab A Aljalahma², Anil Haldar², Matthew Welck²

Affiliations

¹ Foot and Ankle Unit, The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Brockley Hill, Stanmore, London, HA7 4LP, UK. Electronic address: iris.kwok@nhs.net.
² Foot and Ankle Unit, The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Brockley Hill, Stanmore, London, HA7 4LP, UK.

PMID: 35255399
DOI: 10.1016/j.foot.2021.101889

Abstract

Background: The authors reviewed the current evidence and conducted a comprehensive review on the use of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in the treatment of foot and ankle fracture non-unions.

Methods: Four databases were searched to identify relevant studies in the available literature.

Results: Eight studies were reviewed, demonstrating union rates of 65%-100% and 90-100% at 3- and 6-months following ESWT treatment respectively. No major complications were seen in any of the studies. Minor complications included local soft tissue swelling, petechiae, bruising and pain.

Conclusions: The literature that is currently available is limited to case series of relatively small sample sizes, highlighting the need for a prospective randomised controlled trial to further investigate the efficacy of ESWT in the treatment of foot and ankle fracture non-unions.

Keywords: Ankle; ESWT; Foot; Non-union; Pseudoarthrosis; Shock wave.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Ankle Fractures*
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy*
Humans
Treatment Outcome