Effectiveness of focused extracorporeal shock wave versus manual therapy in postpartum patients with sacroiliac joint dysfunction: a prospective clinical trial

Abstract Objective To investigate the effectiveness of focused extracorporeal shock wave therapy (FESWT) in treating postpartum sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction. Methods A total of 90 patients with SIJ dysfunction were included and randomly assigned to FESWT, manual therapy (MT), or combination therapy (CT) groups. Pain intensity and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score were measured upon admission, after 1 and 2 weeks of treatments. The treatment efficacy and adverse events of each group were also assessed. Results There were no significant differences among three groups regarding clinical data, pain intensity, and ODI score on admission (all P > 0.05). After 1 week of treatment, FESWT exhibited similar pain intensity and lower ODI score (P