The use of physiotherapy in the treatment of scars – a review of the literature

Abstract

The aim of the research was the review of the newest papers reporting the application of physiotherapy in scar treatment. Answers were searched to the following research-related questions: 1. Which techniques used in physiotherapy are effective in scar treatment? 2. Which tools used in physiotherapy are applied in scar treatment? 3. Was it possible to determine which approach had turned out to be the most efficient in scar treatment? The authors took advantage of the scientifically accepted medical databases online, such as: PubMed and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). The inclusion criterion of the randomized clinical trial was based on the papers published between 2016 and May 2021. The papers on scar treatment reporting approaches different from those pertaining to physiotherapy were not included. Moreover, the papers written in languages other than English were not included either. 281 papers pertaining to this issue were found and 35 papers on physiotherapy approaches were selected. Finally, 9 papers were subjected to critical analysis. Most of the authors (n=3) reported using shockwave in their research. Next, laser treatment (n=2) or manual therapy (n=2) were applied. The fewest researchers used electrotherapy (n=1) and silicone gel (n=1).