Background and objective.

Physiotherapy can be important in the treatment of scars because they can lead to physical problems, such as joint limitations, pain, itching or anxiety, or affect to the person's physical appearance. However, there is limited evidence for its effectiveness.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the current role of different physiotherapy modalities in the treatment of scars.

Methods.

A literature search on the Scopus, Web of Science, PEDro, Pubmed and Pubmed Central and SciELO databases using the terms "physiotherapy modalities" and "scar" was carried out.

Results.

Sixteen valid articles were obtained to respond to the objective proposed. Of these, 11 focus on the treatment of burn scars and skin donor sites on burn patients, and the remaining five to another group of other scars.

Conclusions.

The different physiotherapy modalities in the treatment of different types of scars seem to be effective, improving adverse characteristics of the scars (pain, elasticity, itching, functionality, quality of life and aesthetics). At the same time, it is still necessary to standardize application protocols and to carry out further research in this field in order to achieve more solid evidence on the subject.

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