[Trends in the prescription of electrotherapy in a tertiary rehabilitation unit: a retrospective observational study...

Electrotherapy has been widely used in rehabilitation for decades, despite the limited and heterogeneous evidence supporting its effectiveness in musculoskeletal conditions. The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze prescription trends of these modalities in a tertiary hospital and to describe interprofessional variability.

A retrospective observational study was conducted using data from a hospital information system. All prescriptions of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), therapeutic ultrasound, laser therapy, microwave therapy, shortwave diathermy, and magnetotherapy between 2014 and 2024 were included. Temporal trends and interprofessional variability were assessed using a mixed-effects negative binomial regression model.

A total of 17,361 prescriptions were analyzed. Overall use of electrotherapy showed a progressive decline, particularly for microwave therapy (IRR: 0.847; 95%CI: 0.800-0.896; P<.001) and shortwave diathermy (IRR: 0.867; 95%CI: 0.818-0.919; P<.001). Interprofessional variability was low. The use of TENS remained stable over time.

The use of electrotherapy has decreased notably over the last decade. These findings suggest a possible evolution in usage patterns, although their interpretation requires caution given the descriptive nature of the study. Microwave therapy and shortwave diathermy showed the greatest declines, while TENS maintained stable prescription levels. These results highlight changes in the role of electrotherapy in contemporary rehabilitation practice and support the need for multicenter studies to confirm these trends.