The role of phonophoresis in dyshpagia due to cervical osteophytes

Zeliha Unlu1, Sebnem Orguc2, Gorkem Eskiizmir3, Asim Aslan3, Saliha Tasci11Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; 2Department of Radiology; 3Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Celal Bayar University School of Medicine, Manisa, TurkeyObjective: Treatment of patients with anterior cervical osteophytes causing dysphagia includes conservative treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, antibiotics, and an appropriate soft diet. Physical therapy with its advantages may be an alternative method in the treatment, which was not reported previously.Case description: Phonophoresis therapy is applied in nine patients with dysphagia due to cervical osteophytes.Results: The symptom of dysphagia regressed in various degrees in all patients after phonophoresis therapy.Conclusions: Phonophoresis might be an alternative method for the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) treatment in patients with dysphagia due to cervical osteophytes.Keywords: cervical, osteophyte, dysphagia, physical therapy