Knee osteoarthritis
CONSULT TREATMENT PROTOCOL
INDICATIONS
GLOBAL INDICATIONS
Tendon disorders
- Calcifying tendinitis of the shoulder
- Chronic distal biceps tendinopathy
- Chronic proximal hamstring tendinopathy
- Golfer’s elbow
- Greater trochanteric pain syndrome
- Insertional Achilles tendinopathy
- Medial tibial stress syndrome
- Mid-body Achilles tendinopathy
- Patella tip syndrome
- Plantar fasciopathy
- Primary long bicipital tenosynovitis
- Subacromial pain syndrome
- Tennis elbow
BACK
GLOSSARY OF DISEASES
BACKMORE INFORMATION
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of pain and disability worldwide and has substantial negative impact on the quality of life of affected individuals.
Hip and knee are mostly affected, especially in the elderly population. Women are more frequently affected than men. There is no cure for OA. Therapeutic approaches aim to relieve pain and maximize functional capacity and quality of life, while minimizing adverse effects from drugs and invasive procedures.
Patients with knee OA complaining of severe disabling and refractory pain are usually referred for partial or total arthroplasty. In fact, it has been shown that total knee replacement can result in greater pain relief and functional improvement than conservative treatment alone, comprising education, dietary advice, exercise, use of insoles and pain medication.
On the other hand, total knee replacement may be associated with a greater number of serious adverse events. Besides this, partial or total knee replacement is sometimes not possible because of medical conditions, limited availability and/or excessive cost.
CLINICAL EVIDENCE
Imamura et al., J Rehabil Med 2017; 49:54-62.*
Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy for disabling pain due to severe primary knee osteoarthritis.
READ ABSTRACT
Zhao et al., J Surg Res 2013;185:661-666.*
Efficacy of extracorporeal shockwave therapy for knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.
READ ABSTRACT*Imamura et al. (2017) used the Radial handpiece, whereas Zhao et al. (2013) used the Power+ handpiece. Accordingly, the higher energy density applied by Zhao et al. (2013) may explain the difference between these two studies.
TREATMENT PROTOCOL
| Number of treatment sessions | 3 to 5 |
| Interval between two sessions | 1 week |
| Air pressure Evo Blue® | 2 to 4 bar |
| Air pressure Power+ | 1.5 to 3 bar |
| Impulses | 2,000 on the painful spot |
| Frequency | 8Hz to 12Hz |
| Applicator | 15 mm |
| Skin pressure | Moderate to heavy |
