Wainwright Thomas W, Burgess Louise C, Middleton Robert G
Orthopaedic Research Institute, Executive Business Centre, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK.
Orthopaedic Department, Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Bournemouth, UK.
Clin Med Insights Arthritis Musculoskelet Disord. 2019 May 20;12:1179544119849024. doi: 10.1177/1179544119849024. eCollection 2019.
Following soft tissue ankle injury, patients are often referred for out-patient physiotherapy and present symptoms including pain, reduced range of movement and function, and oedema. In this study, we assess the use of a neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) device as an adjunctive therapy to reduce oedema in patients recovering from grade I and II ankle sprains.
This was a single-centre, pilot randomised controlled study, recruiting patients referred to physiotherapy following an ankle sprain. Participants presenting with oedema were randomised to one of two treatment groups: (1) the current standard of care and (2) the current standard of care plus NMES use. Participants were identified in an emergency department and referred to a physiotherapy department for treatment 1 to 5 days following the injury and returned to clinic 7 days later.
Twenty-two participants completed the study and had full data sets for analysis (11 in each group). Mean volumetric displacement was reduced in the intervention group in comparison to the standard care group ( = .011); however, there were no between-group differences in figure of eight measurements, function or pain scores. The device was well tolerated, with no device-related adverse events recorded.
In this pilot, randomised controlled trial, NMES was well tolerated by patients following ankle sprain and demonstrated statistically significant improvements in oedema reduction as measured by fluid displacement. No other changes were observed. Further work will need to confirm the clinical significance and effect on longer term recovery post-ankle sprain.
踝关节软组织损伤后，患者常被转诊至门诊接受物理治疗，出现的症状包括疼痛、活动范围和功能受限以及水肿。在本研究中，我们评估使用神经肌肉电刺激（NMES）设备作为辅助治疗手段，以减轻Ⅰ级和Ⅱ级踝关节扭伤患者的水肿。
这是一项单中心的前瞻性随机对照研究，招募踝关节扭伤后转诊至物理治疗科的患者。出现水肿的参与者被随机分为两个治疗组之一：（1）当前的标准治疗；（2）当前的标准治疗加NMES治疗。参与者在急诊科被识别，并在受伤后1至5天被转诊至物理治疗科接受治疗，7天后返回诊所。
22名参与者完成了研究并拥有完整的数据集用于分析（每组11名）。与标准治疗组相比，干预组的平均体积位移有所减少（P = 0.011）；然而，在“8”字测量、功能或疼痛评分方面，两组之间没有差异。该设备耐受性良好，未记录到与设备相关的不良事件。
在这项前瞻性随机对照试验中，踝关节扭伤患者对NMES耐受性良好，并且通过液体位移测量显示在减轻水肿方面有统计学上的显著改善。未观察到其他变化。需要进一步的研究来证实其临床意义以及对踝关节扭伤后长期恢复的影响。
