Paolucci Teresa, Porto Daniele, Pellegrino Raffaello, Sina Ornela, Fero Andi, D'Astolfo Sara, Franceschelli Sara, Patruno Antonia, Fusco Augusto, Pesce Mirko
Department of Oral, Medical and Biotechnological Sciences, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of G. D'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy.
Unit of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Don Orione Institute, 65128 Pescara, Italy.
Healthcare (Basel). 2023 Apr 25;11(9):1221. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11091221.
The investigation of this observational case-control study aimed at determining the effectiveness of a combined treatment of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF) with a soft elastic knee brace versus ELF alone in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) with respect to a reduction in pain and functional recovery. We hypothesized that the combined use of ELF and a soft elastic knee brace may provide better results. Thirty-five patients (N = 35, divided into Group 1 = ELF and Group 2 = ELF with the soft elastic knee brace) were analyzed. The rehabilitative protocol consisted of 10 sessions of antiphlogistic and antiedema programs (first cycle) for 2 weeks, followed by twelve sessions of bone repair and connective tissue repair programs (second cycle) in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) for 4 weeks. Patient evaluations were conducted at baseline (T0) and after 2 (T1) and 4 (T2) weeks of treatment. A follow-up evaluation was conducted 6 weeks after treatment (T3). The LIMFA© Therapy System was used to create multifrequency magnetoelectric fields with an intensity of 100 µT and a low-frequency field. The Incrediwear Cred 40 knee sleeve (Incred) was used for alleviating knee pain. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and the Lysholm score (Ls) were used as outcome measures. The results showed that pain at rest (Vr), pain in motion (Vm), KOOS, and Ls were significantly affected by ELF over time. In conclusion, Group 2 had a better response in terms of pain resolution at rest ( < 0.05) and a concurrent better response at T3 in terms of functional recovery ( < 0.05).
这项观察性病例对照研究旨在确定极低频电磁场（ELF）联合软质弹性护膝与单独使用ELF治疗膝骨关节炎（KOA）在减轻疼痛和功能恢复方面的有效性。我们假设ELF与软质弹性护膝联合使用可能会产生更好的效果。对35名患者（N = 35，分为第1组 = ELF组和第2组 = ELF联合软质弹性护膝组）进行了分析。康复方案包括针对膝骨关节炎（KOA）患者进行为期2周的10次消炎消肿方案（第一周期），随后是为期4周的12次骨修复和结缔组织修复方案（第二周期）。在基线（T0）以及治疗2周（T1）和4周（T2）后对患者进行评估。在治疗后6周（T3）进行随访评估。使用LIMFA©治疗系统产生强度为100 µT的多频磁电场和低频场。使用Incrediwear Cred 40护膝（Incrediwear）减轻膝关节疼痛。使用视觉模拟量表（VAS）、膝关节损伤和骨关节炎结局评分（KOOS）以及Lysholm评分（Ls）作为结局指标。结果表明，随着时间的推移，ELF对静息痛（Vr）、运动痛（Vm）、KOOS和Ls有显著影响。总之，第2组在静息痛缓解方面有更好的反应（<0.05），并且在T3时功能恢复方面同时有更好的反应（<0.05）。
