Shock wave therapy versus conventional physical therapy for partial-thickness forearm burn scars: A…

Randomized trialBurns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries· Jun 2026

Shock wave therapy versus conventional physical therapy for partial-thickness forearm burn scars: A randomized controlled trial.

Hany M Elgohary, Heba M Elfeky, Ahmed M Elfahl

Burns & Wound ReconstructionRandomized trialTreatmentQ1IF 2.3

Shock wave therapy produced a large effect on pain reduction in burn scar patients

Shock wave therapy versus conventional physical therapy for partial-thickness forearm burn scars: A randomized controlled trial.

Hany M Elgohary … Ahmed M Elfahl

Burns · Jun 2026 · Q1 in Surgery

Background

Burn scars are the lasting marks left on the skin following a burn injury, which can arise from exposure to heat, chemicals, electricity, or radiation.

Purpose

To explore and compare the efficacy of shock wave therapy (shock wave therapy) vs. conventional physical therapy in the treatment of partial-thickness forearm burn scars.

Methods

Seventy patients aged 20-55 with partial-thickness forearm burns were allocated into two groups: Group A (35 participants) got shock wave therapy, whereas Group B (35 participants) had traditional physical therapy with a deactivated applicator.

n = 35 participants

η²p = 0.82

Results

η²p = 0.82

pain dropped sharply and consistently with shock wave therapy

n = 35 participants

More results

No notable changes were detected between groups at baseline assessment.

Both groups exhibited statistically significant enhancements across all outcome measures (VAS, thickness, VSS, and BSHS) from pre to post and pre to follow-up, as evidenced by the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) that do not intersect zero in any comparison.

More results

Group A consistently had shorter and elevated confidence intervals (CIs); for instance, the VAS pre-post CI was (4.70, 6.36) in Group A compared to (4.19, 6.86) in Group B, and the BSHS pre-post CI was (26.23, 106.66) in Group A vs (28.07, 105.23) in Group B.

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Conclusion

Shock wave therapy has been demonstrated to be effective in improving the properties of scar tissue, particularly by alleviating pain and enhancing the appearance of hypertrophic scars.

Shock wave therapy versus conventional physical therapy for partial-thickness forearm burn scars: A randomized controlled trial.

Shock wave therapy versus conventional physical therapy for partial-thickness forearm burn scars: A randomized controlled trial.

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