Trends in the Availability and Usage of Electrophysical Agents in Physiotherapy practices from 1990 to 2010: A review

Background: The use of electrophysical agents has a historically important role in physiotherapy practice. There are anecdotal reports that the availability and usage of electrotherapy modalities is declining, which may have implications for physiotherapy practice. The aim of the literature review was to provide scientific evidence on electrotherapy usage in the last twenty years by identifying trends in availability, use and non-use of electrotherapeutic modalities in physiotherapy practice during 1990s and 2000s. Methods: Review of empirical studies published in the English language from 1990 to 2010 and identified through searching online bibliographic databases, which included Medline / OvidSP, PubMed Central, CINAHL/EBSCOhost, ScienceDirect, Scopus, ISI Web of Science and Google Scholar. Findings: In the last twenty years, ultrasound availability and usage show increasing trends in several countries. The availability and use of pulsed shortwave diathermy