The effects of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy on muscle strength and pain in patients with end-stage knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is one of the most common chronic degenerative joint conditions affecting aging population. Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of a combination of home-based exercise and pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy to improve muscle strength, physical f...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Qian-Wen Wang, Michael Tim-Yun Ong, Gene Chi-Wai Man, Alfredo Franco-Obregon, Ben Chi-Yin Choi, Pauline Po-Yee Lui, Daniel Fong, Ji-Hong Qiu, Xin He, Jonathan Patrick Ng, Patrick Shu-Hang Yung
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical and clinical sciences
End-stage knee osteoarthritis
Health sciences
Knee extensor muscle strength
Knee flexor muscle strength
Pain
PEMF therapy
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is one of the most common chronic degenerative joint conditions affecting aging population. Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of a combination of home-based exercise and pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy to improve muscle strength, physical function, and pain. Methods: Sixty patients were randomly assigned to either home-based exercise alone (control group; n = 30) or combined with PEMF therapy (treatment group; n = 30) twice a week for eight weeks. Knee extension, flexion muscle strength, gait speed (GS), 5 time sit-to-stand test (5STS), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) were recorded at baseline and 4 and 8 weeks. Results: Significant improvements in symptomatic knee extension muscle strength (SKE, p = 0.001), flexion strength (SKF, p = 0.011), contralateral knee extension muscle strength (CKE, p = 0.002), and flexion strength (CKF, p = 0.009) were observed for the PEMF treatment group at 8 weeks. Significant reductions in VAS pain scores were observed in both the treatment (p