Background. Osteoarthritis is one of the most common dysfunctions of the musculoskeletal system and viscosupplementation is becoming an increasingly popular treatment in OA. However, current knowledge regarding biomechanical changes in synovial joints reveals many discrepancies. Therefore, the aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of viscosupplementation on knee joint arthrokinematics as analyzed by vibroarthrography.
Material and methods. Seventeen individuals diagnosed with moderate knee osteoarthritis (VSC) were examined before and after a single injection of hyaluronate. A control group consisted of 30 asymptomatic individuals. During alternating extension/flexion of the knee joint, a 6-second vibroarthrographic signal was recorded using an accelerometer. The following parameters were calculated: variance (VMS), amplitude (R4), and spectral power density in the 50-250 Hz (P1) and 250-450 Hz (P2) bands.
Results. Statistical analysis showed significant differences (p<0.05) in the values of R4 and P2, which were higher in the VSC group than among the controls. After viscosupplementation, the values of R4, P1 and P2 in the VSC group decreased to a level not significantly different from that seen among the controls.
Conclusions. 1. After a single intra-articular HA injection, joint motion-related vibrations were reduced, which was recorded as a decreased intensity of vibroacoustic emission. 2. This suggests that the use of viscosupplementation in patients with moderate knee osteoarthritis may improve qualitative aspects of arthrokinematics.
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