Influence of shockwave therapy on pain in women with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is the most common articular disease that causes pain to its sufferers. Shockwave therapy is among the many treatments that can be used. Objective: The objective of this study was to observe the influence of shockwave therapy on the intensity of pain in elderly women with knee OA. Method: In this study, 40 elderly females (69.57 ± 6.42 years) were submitted to weekly shockwave therapy with 2000 impulses at 2.5 to 4.0 bar, at a frequency of 8Hz, at the location most painful to touch in the knee, the medial articular interline, for three consecutive weeks. The effect of its application on the pain was evaluated by the visual analogue scale before and after the treatment. Results: There was a significant reduction (p < 0.0001) of pain intensity in the volunteers, going from 7.86 ± 1.07 cm to 5.32 ± 2.26 cm. Conclusion: The application of shockwave therapy has been shown to reduce pain in elderly females with osteoarthritis. Keywords