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Objective: A double-blind placebo-controlled randomized study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound (US) in knee OA., Patients and Methods: Thirty-three patients (mean age 54.7 ± 14.7) were randomized to receive either continuous US ( n = 15) or sham US ( n = 18) as a placebo. Continuous ultrasonic waves with 1 MHZ frequency and 1 watt/cm 2 power were applied for 5 min for 10 sessions. The primary outcome was pain on movement assessed by visual analog scale (VAS). The secondary outcomes were WOMAC scores and measurements of distal femoral cartilage thickness by imaging US., Results: Both groups showed reduced knee pain on movement following intervention. The VAS measurements improved significantly both in the treatment and the placebo group patients ( P < 0.05 and P < 0.05). WOMAC scores improved statistically significant in all domains (pain, stiffness, physical function, and total score) in the treatment group ( P < 0.05). All domains of WOMAC score showed statistically significant change when compared with the placebo group ( P < 0.05). There was no change in the cartilage thickness measurements of medial femoral condyle, lateral femoral condyle, and intercondylar area in both groups after intervention., Conclusion: Results suggest that US is effective treatment modality in pain relief and improvement of function in patients with knee OA; however, US had no effect on cartilage repair., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Objective: The prevalence of musculoskeletal complications in diabetes mellitus (DM) increases with the duration of disease and with poor glycemic control. Our aim was to evaluate lower extremity musculoskeletal complications in patients with DM using the Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System, and to reveal the relationship between clinical and sono-graphic findings., Materials and Methods: A total of 67 patients (25 men, 42 women) with DM were included in the study. All the diabetic patients were selected if they did not have any symptom of muscu-loskeletal system in the lower extremities. They were divided into four groups. Ultrasonographic assessment was performed according to the Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System with an Esaote MyLab 5 device equipped with a 5-13 MHz linear transducer. Correlation between diabetes duration and lower extremity enthesopathy scores were evaluated., Results: There was a significant correlation between duration of DM and total Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System scores ( p < 0.001). In addition, duration of DM was significantly correlated with enthesophyte scores and erosion scores (both p < 0.001). There was a significant difference among Groups 1 -4 for the mean enthesophyte score and mean erosion score (both, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Musculoskeletal ultrasonography is an effective, inexpensive, and useful tool without radiation for evaluating diabetic patients for the early diagnosis of musculoskeletal complications., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be a potential conflict of interest. Sibel Caglar Okur, Yasemin Pekin Dogan, Murat Mert, Ozge Aksu, Ozer Burnaz, Nil Sayiner Caglar declare that they have no conflicts of interest.