Therapeutic ultrasound is used frequently in the treatment
of LBP by many physiotherapists around the
world and after more than 60 years of clinical use, there
is still great controversy over its usefulness [13-16].
According to two recent clinical guidelines, the UK
NICE guideline http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG88 and
the COST B13 European guideline for the management
of LBP [5], there is no evidence regarding the benefit of
using electrotherapy modalities such as interferential,
laser, TENS, and ultrasound even though these modalities
are commonly used in physiotherapy practice. The
guidelines and recent systematic reviews [17] of therapeutic
ultrasound have highlighted a need for further
research to investigate the true effect of these modalities
in the context of well conducted randomized controlled
trials. As the application of ultrasound may have adverse
effects for patients with LBP (e.g. because of the transmission
of thermal energy), it is important to know
whether the benefits outweigh the risks of this commonly
used intervention.