The role of tuning fork in the evaluation of musculoskeletal disorders and pallesthesia: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND

Musculoskeletal and neurological conditions disorders are important conditions that need to be assessed in clinical practice. The tuning fork (TF) has been proposed as a practical tool to investigate suspected fractures and for the evaluation of pallesthesia in subjects with peripheral neuropathy.

OBJECTIVE

the aim of this study is to define whether the tuning fork can be useful in the clinical evaluation of patients with musculoskeletal disorders and deep somatosensory dysfunctions.

METHODS

This scoping review was performed in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institute. MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, PEDro, CINAHL, Web of Science, UpToDate, Scopus Database were consulted.

RESULTS

14 studies were included in the final analysis. Nine studies regard the use of tuning fork to detect fractures. If the tuning fork was used with a stethoscope, the test reached a high sensitivity ranging between 83% and 94%. Five studies investigated the tool to evaluate pallesthesia dysfunctions among which possible differences between biceps femoris strain and simple clinical rules for detecting peripheral neuropathy.

CONCLUSION

The 128 Hz tuning fork could be potentially useful to detect some type of traumatic fractures. The Rydel-Seiffer tuning fork appears to be a useful tool for assessing potential nerve conduction deficits in the evaluation of pallesthesia.