Ultrasound therapy is an established clinical tool in the treatment of soft tissue lesion. However, in seeking scientific evidence to verify the benefits of ultrasound in a given area, or to decide on the optimum treatment parameters, we are confronting with inadequate and ofter confusing evidence. There appears to be little direct information on precise temperature changes in tissues by different ultrasound application techniques of the ultrasound treatment parameters. The clinical application in the treatment of soft tissues by the thermal effect remained an empirical science. The objective of this study was to determine how the tissue temperature is changed by different stroking techniques, parallel, cross, and circular to the muscle fibers. The area of tibialis anticus muscle in 16 limbs of 16 subjects were exposed to ultrasound diathermy of 2.0 watts/cm2 for 10 minutes. The temperature changes in the skin and tibialis anticus muscle at depth of 1 cm were recorded. The delineated area was confined to the most muscular portion of the tibialis anticus muscle. The transducer was gently moved, with slight pressure, over the delineated area in repeated regular manner so as to favor an even distribution of the ultrasound energy. There was no statistical significance in skin temperature change. Intramuscular temperatures at depth of 1 cm by all stroking techniques were observed to be significantly higher than the preapplication temperature. The mean postapplication intramuscular temperature by parallel stroking technique to the muscle fibers was significantly higher than that of cross and circular stroking technique (p<0.05)
