Application of physiotherapy in onychomycosis

Abstract

Onychomycosis is a kind of finger or toe nail disorders caused by the infection with dermatophytes or other fungi. The current treatment of onychomycosis can be divided into pharmacotherapy and physiotherapy. Pharmacotherapy, including oral and topical antifungal agents, has definite therapeutic effects and is the most effective approach at present. However, pharmacotherapy has some disadvantages, such as a longterm course of treatment, obvious side effects, and poor patient compliance. Physiotherapy, as a secondline therapy, includes laser therapy, photodynamic therapy and adjuvant physical therapy. Many experiments and clinical studies have shown that physiotherapy is effective for the treatment of onychomycosis with few adverse effects and wide applicability, and has been gradually becoming a new hotspot in the treatment of onychomycosis. Key words: Onychomycosis; Physical therapy modalities; Laser therapy; Photochemotherapy; Nails