The Role of Anodal Galvanism in the Treatment of Retrocalcaneal Bursitis: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Background: Retrocalcaneal bursitis (RCB) is highly prevalent, with resultant disability in over 50% of those affected. RCB can result from repetitive impingement from biomechanical alterations or an increase in workout without proper conditioning. Literature focusing on conservative management of RCB is highly scarce. This study focuses on investigating the efficacy of anodal galvanism (AG) in improving pain and function for RCB patients.
Methods: Clinically diagnosed RCB subjects (N = 135) were randomly assigned to either of the three intervention groups: AG, Ultrasound Therapy (UST) and Laser Therapy (LT) for a 2-week long treatment in this retrospective study. All subjects additionally received the conventional treatment. After a drop-out of 28 subjects, follow-up and analysis was done for 107 subjects (57 male and 50 female). The difference in the baseline characteristics and variables (age, gender, BMI, average symptoms duration, VAS, and AOFAS) among 3 independent groups of treatment populations (AG, LT and UST) was tested using one-way ANOVA. Testing for outcome measures (VAS and AOFAS) was done at day 0, 15 and 90. Timeline differences of the dependent variables within a group were analysed by a paired t-test. Mixed-design multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to compare the dependent variables among independent variables at different time points.
Results: A mean percentage decline in VAS score was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in AG (74.73% and 83.92% at day 15 and 90, respectively) compared to the LT (42.77% and 53.81% at day 15 and 90, respectively) and UST groups (25.06% and 32.82% at day 15 and 90, respectively). AG group depicted a significantly higher percentage increase in AOFAS at the end of the treatment on day 15 (50.51%) compared to the LT and UST groups (22.50% and 13.55%, respectively) (p < 0.001), which rose to 67.72%, 31.81% and 20.59%, respectively, at day 90. Tukey’s post hoc revealed that improvements in VAS and AOFAS scores between the three groups were significant (p <0.05). The correlation between symptom duration in AG group and the difference in scores for VAS (r = 0.075, p = 0.648) and AOFAS (r = 0.187, p = 0.255) was non-significant.
Conclusion: All three treatment alternatives showed statistically significant improvement in reducing VAS and AOFAS. Anodal galvanism had the best efficacy in improving pain and function in subjects with retrocalcaneal bursitis, relative to laser and ultrasound therapy. The authors recommend the use of AG for managing the RCB at all stages of chronicity.