EFFICACY OF LASER VERSUS IONTOPHORESIS IN MANAGEMENT OF SHOULDER IMPINGEMENT SYNDROME ON YOUTH HANDBALL PLAYERS

Abstract

physical therapy Pediatrics Pediatrics Pediatric physiotherapy physical therapyالعلاج الطبيعي علاج الاطفالBackground: In overhead athletes, especially young handball players, shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS) was a common overuse ailment that can cause pain, functional limitations, and decreased sports performance. Though they were frequently employed in clinical practice, there was currently little comparison data on the effectiveness of physiotherapeutic therapies like high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) and iontophoresis in this particular population. Objective: to evaluate how well iontophoresis and HILT work together to improve shoulder function and lessen discomfort in young handball players with SIS. Methods: Forty youth handball players, aged 15-18 and clinically diagnosed with SIS, participated in a randomized controlled trial experiment. Two equal groups were randomly assigned to the participants. Group I received high-intensity laser therapy, whereas Group II underwent dexamethasone-assisted iontophoresis. Both groups underwent treatment for 8 weeks using a standardized physiotherapy program. Among the outcome measures were the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for measuring the degree of pain, the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) for measuring functional disability, a bubble inclinometer for measuring shoulder range of motion, and a hand-held dynamometer for measuring muscular strength. Evaluations were conducted both before and after the intervention. Results: Following the intervention, both treatment groups demonstrated statistically significant improvements in every end measure (p < 0.05). But when compared to Group II (iontophoresis), Group I (HILT) showed noticeably bigger gains in muscle strength, shoulder range of motion, VAS, and SPADI scores (p < 0.01). The HILT group showed a much larger effect size for both pain reduction and functional improvement. Conclusion: High-intensity laser therapy was more effective than iontophoresis in lowering pain and improving functional results in youth handball players with shoulder impingement syndrome. The inclusion of HILT as a preferred modality in the physiotherapeutic therapy of SIS in athletic populations was supported by these findings. Keywords: Shoulder impingement syndrome, high-intensity laser therapy, iontophoresis, handball players