Effects of kinesiotherapy, ultrasound and electrotherapy in management of bilateral knee osteoarthritis: prospective clinical trial

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough recent advances in knee osteoarthritis (OA) treatment and evaluation were achieved, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have evaluated the longitudinal effect of therapeutic modalities on the functional exercise capacity of patients with knee OA. The purpose was to investigate the effects of kinesiotherapy and electrotherapy on functional exercise capacity, evaluated using the six-minute walk test (6-MWT) in patients with bilateral knee OA. Secondary measurements included range of motion (ROM), severity of knee pain (VAS), and a measure of perceived health and physical function, evaluated using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index.MethodsA total of 40 women with bilateral knee OA were assigned to three groups: kinesiotherapy (KIN, n = 16), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS, n = 12), or ultrasound (US, n = 10). The groups underwent 12 weeks of intervention twice per week. The participants were subjected to the 6-MWT, ROM, VAS and WOMAC index. These tests were performed before and after the intervention. The study was focused on outpatients and was carried out at Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil.ResultsAt follow-up, the KIN and US groups had significantly higher 6-MWT distances (19.8 ± 21.7 and 14.1 ± 22.5%, respectively) compared with their respective pre-intervention values. All treatments were effective for reducing pain and improving the WOMAC index.ConclusionsWe demonstrated that the 6-MWT is a tool that can be used to evaluate improvements in the functional exercise capacity of patients submitted to a clinical intervention.

Phisical modalities on the functional performance in knee osteoarthritis: a sytematic review

“…physical modalities in functional capacity in patients with knee OA, especially functional capacity during daily life activities and instrumental activities of daily living (5). Thus, since the physical components and pain can affect the functional performance of daily activities, the effect of these forms of treatment on the functional performance and self perception of the disease status in subjects with knee OA is yet to be established.…”

“…The objective of non pharmacological treatments, including physical therapy, is the relief of the signs and symptoms of the disease and, if possible, the delay in progression, being that various treatments have been used for this purpose, including therapeutic ultrasound (5), electrical stimulation (5,6) and the low power laser (7).…”

Effect of Nonpharmacological Therapies on Pain and Health Perception in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

“…The positive efects of nonpharmacologic management on knee pain and health status in OA patients were examined. Mascarin et al [4] studied 40 patients and compared the TENS protocol with the US protocol. The TENS was applied using a frequency of 100 Hz, pulse width of 50 μs, intensity (mA) set at the individual subject's sensorial threshold, modulation up to 50% of variation frequency, quadratic biphasic symmetrical pulse and a length of application of 20 minutes.…”

“…The most common types of electrotherapy are ultrasound (US), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and now more often appearing extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT). US, as a noninvasive treatment is used to create a controlled, microtrauma to local afected tissue in order to stimulate a healing response and microvascularization [3,4]. The irst use of ESWT was not for musculoskeletal disorders but to break up kidney stones.…”

Uso del ultrasonido terapéutico pulsado en el tratamiento de personas con osteoartritis de rodilla

“…Así, la búsqueda bibliográfica concluyó con 13 ECC [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] (figura 1). La tabla 1 muestra los artículos incluidos en la revisión describiendo el objetivo, la población del estudio, las variables, el análisis y los principales resultados.…”