Article

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of phonophoresis of piroxicam (PhP) and
ultrasound therapy (UT) in patients with mild to moderate, symptomatic knee
osteoarthritis (OA). DESIGN: A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial.
SETTING: Department of rehabilitation medicine, university hospital.
PARTICIPANTS: Patients with knee OA (N=46; mean age +/- SD, 58.91+/-10.50y) who
had visual analog scale (VAS) scores of 50 to 92mm (mean, 71.5mm) for knee pain
intensity and Kellgren-Lawrence grades of I to III were randomly allocated into 2
groups: PhP and UT (23 in each group). INTERVENTIONS: Both the PhP and UT groups
were treated with an ultrasound program using the stroking technique, continuous
mode, 1.0W/cm(2), 10 minutes per session, and 5 times per week for 2 weeks. Four
grams of 0.5% piroxicam gel (20mg of piroxicam drug) was used in the PhP group,
while the nondrug coupling gel was used in the UT group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A
100-mm VAS for usual pain and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities
Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) were evaluated before and after treatment in both
groups using a double-blinded procedure. RESULTS: The VAS and total WOMAC scores
were significantly improved after treatment in both groups (P<.001). The PhP
group showed more significant effects than the UT group, both in reducing the VAS
pain score (P=.009) and in improving the WOMAC score, although it did not reach
the level of significance (P=.143). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that PhP
was significantly more effective than UT in reducing pain and tended to improve
knee functioning in Kellgren-Lawrence grades I to III knee OA. PhP is suggested
as a new, effective method for treatment of symptomatic knee OA.
CI - Copyright (c) 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS