Department of Physical Therapy, City University of New York-College of Staten Island, New York City, NY.
New York Center for Biomedical Engineering, City University of New York-City College of New York, New York City, NY.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Sep 27;103(39):e38225. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000038225.
Osteoarthritis (OA) affects 528 million individuals globally, predominantly in knee and hip joints, with a notable impact on females aged over 55, resulting in a substantial economic burden. However, the efficacy of modalities used in physiotherapy to manage OA pain for reducing the need for joint replacement remains an open question, and guidelines differ. Our systematic narrative review, drawing from reputable databases (e.g., PubMed, Cochrane, and CINAHL) with specific Mesh terms investigated evidence from 23 Randomized Controlled Trials (that included a control or a sham group in 30 different protocols) using therapeutic modalities like ultrasound, diathermy, and electrical stimulation for knee and hip OA pain, involving a total of 1055 subjects. We investigated the attainment of minimal clinically important differences in pain reduction, operationalized through a 20% decrement in the Western Ontario and McMaster University Arthritis Index or Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score. Our results indicated that 15 protocols out of 30 reach that level, but there were no statistical differences among modalities. Half of the protocol presented in the literature reached clinical efficiency but studies on hip remains scarce. We recommend a comprehensive, sequential, and multimodal intervention plan for individuals with joint OA with initial transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and progressing to a 2-week protocol of continuous ultrasound, potentially combined with deep microwave diathermy. Long-term intervention involves the use of pulsed electrical stimulation. For hip OA, a cautious approach and discussions with healthcare providers about potential benefits of spinal cord nerve stimulation.
骨关节炎(OA)影响全球 5.28 亿人,主要影响膝关节和髋关节,55 岁以上女性的发病率较高,对患者造成严重的经济负担。然而,物理治疗中使用的各种方法对缓解 OA 疼痛、减少关节置换的效果仍存在争议,并且不同的指南有不同的建议。我们通过系统的叙述性综述,从知名数据库(如 PubMed、Cochrane 和 CINAHL)中使用特定的 Mesh 术语检索了 23 项随机对照试验(30 种不同方案中有对照组或假手术组)的证据,这些试验使用了超声、热疗和电刺激等治疗方法来治疗膝关节和髋关节 OA 疼痛,共涉及 1055 名受试者。我们研究了最小临床重要差异(通过 Western Ontario 和 McMaster 大学关节炎指数或视觉模拟量表(VAS)评分降低 20%来操作)在疼痛减轻方面的实现情况。结果表明,30 种方案中有 15 种达到了这一水平,但各种方法之间没有统计学差异。文献中提出的一半方案达到了临床疗效,但针对髋关节的研究仍然很少。我们建议对患有膝关节 OA 的患者采用全面、连续和多模式的干预计划,初始采用经皮神经电刺激,然后进行为期 2 周的连续超声治疗,可能结合深部微波热疗。长期干预包括使用脉冲电刺激。对于髋关节 OA,应采取谨慎的方法,并与医疗保健提供者讨论脊髓神经刺激的潜在益处。
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