“Our analysis of nearly 10,000 patients reveals that simple and accessible therapies such as the knee offender and the water -based exercise surpass high -tech options such as ultrasound,” wrote the author of the Xiao Chen study and his colleagues from the First People’s Hospital of Neijiang, China.
These simple interventions are capable of reducing pain and improving mobility without disturbing the intestine or increasing heart risks like many current pain drugs, they wrote.
Simple treatments are the results of the most effective study
In research, published this week in the scientific journal Plos aScientists examined the data of 139 trials that evaluated the results of a dozen non -drug treatments for knee osteoarthritis.
In addition to bracing and knee hydrotherapy (exercises or treatments in lukewarm water), these options included:
- Exercises like walking
- Interior soles
- Kinesiology strip
- High -level and high level laser therapy
- Two types of electrical stimulation: interfering current therapy and stimulation of the transcutaneous electric nerve
- Electromagnetic energy
- Two techniques involving sound waves: ultrasonic therapy and extracorporeal shock waves therapy
In a systematic assessment of how these approaches have improved the function, relieved pain and stiffness, scientists have determined that knee hugs had the greatest probability of being the best technique of knee in the knee, followed by hydrotherapy and exercise.
“The study confirms more than for people struggling with painful to moderate to moderate to moderate osteoarthritis, simple tools can be very useful and should not be overlooked,” explains Eric Holder, MD, deputy professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation to the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, which was not involved in research.
Joint support and exercise produce the best results for knee arthritis
The results suggest that knee recoils are particularly useful because they have the potential to provide additional support, limit excessive movement, improve alignment and therefore improve pain, stiffness and functionality, “explains Dr. Holder.
“Often, when you wear a knee splint, people tend to be more aware of the positioning of their knee, which helps the individual to be more aware of his movement models and his walking mechanics,” he said. “In addition, knee hugs provide compression, which can reduce the swelling of the joints.”
The analysis stressed that hydrotherapy was particularly beneficial to alleviate pain, and exercise in general was also always effective in improving both pain and physical function.
Lance Walker, PT, Physiotherapist and Executive Director of the Human Performance and Nutrition Institute of Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, underlines that the movement is essential to prevent joints from stiffening.
“The motion is the lotion,” explains Walker, who was not involved in the study.
What are the best exercises for knee arthritis?
The results highlighted hydrotherapy as being particularly effective. Holder explains that water therapy tends to be useful because buoyancy reduces stress on joints and facilitates muscle training. In addition, water in hydrotherapy pools is generally maintained at hot and therapeutic temperatures.
- Walk
- Drawing
- Elliptical machines
- Stationary and lying bikes
- Yoga
- Tai Chi
High marks for laser and shock therapies, weak marks for ultrasound
The results of the study showed that high and low energy laser therapies produced “pronounced therapeutic effects”, although high energy is more effective than low. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy has also received high notes to relieve pain.
Of all the therapies evaluated, the ultrasound has classified the lowest in terms of profit. Scientists have concluded that pulsed ultrasound is “moderately effective for improving pain, but does not significantly improve other joint knee functions”.
While on-the-counter medicines like aspirin and acetaminophen can play a role in the treatment of acute pain, Harshvardhan Singh, PHD, a clinician-scientist specializing in neuromuscular performance and physiology of OSU performance and nutritional research, suggests that these new results support the importance of physical therapy methods like hydrotherapy term.
“When you take over the counter analgesics, pain can usually come back, especially if the deep cause of pain has not been discussed,” said Dr. Singh, who was not involved in this research. “Physiotherapy becomes more to the deep cause and helps a patient to reach the ultimate goal, which is to move and put the body back in action.”
Not everyone will respond to knee therapies in the same way
Singh notes that although this type of meta-analysis can provide significant take-out dishes, it may be difficult to draw conclusions from such a wide range of studies with various methodologies.
Walker stresses that if some of the approaches evaluated in the study can assess more than others, which also works depends on the individual – which is why it is important to work with an expert to find what works best for you.
“Some of these modalities, such as exercise, can give you more blow for the male – but if there is a therapy that helps you move, it is worth it,” he said.
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