Introduction: In most cases, physiotherapy of rotator cuff tendinopathy includes exercises and application of therapeutic ultrasound. However, stimulating effects of ultrasound on tissue healing demonstrated in-vitro have not been clearly confirmed in humans with various pathologies of musculoskeletal system. The aim of this literature review is to analyse available evidence of ultrasound effectiveness in treatment of rotator cuff tendinopathy. Methods: Database search was performed with PubMed, Cochrane Library, PEDro, CINAHL and Science Direct. The included articles were published between 2005 and 2015. Results: Ten studies met the criteria, three of which compared effects of ultrasound with sham application or control group, three studies compared ultrasound with laser and four studies compared ultrasound with other therapeutic modalities. Conclusions: The availability of high-quality research is limited. Synthesis of the results was hindered by heterogeneity of ultrasound parameters and measurement protocols, as well as therapeutic modalities, used for comparison. A reliable conclusion on the efficiency of ultrasound in treating rotator cuff tendinopathy cannot be drawn based on available data. Future studies must focus on comparison of ultrasound with its sham application and well controlled treatment protocol without ultrasound.
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