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[Purpose] This study examined the effects of resistance exercise using the elastic band on the pain and function of patients with degenerative knee arthritis. [Participants and Methods] Thirty patients with degenerative knee arthritis were classified into an experimental group of 15 patients on whom resistance exercise using the elastic band was applied and a control group of 15 patients on whom conservative physical therapy was applied. Both groups received treatments three times a week for four weeks. Pain was measured by the visual analogue scale and function was evaluated by the Korean Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (K-WOMAC). [Results] The intragroup comparison showed significant decreases in the visual analogue scale and the K-WOMAC in both the experimental and control groups. In the intergroup comparison after treatment, the experimental group showed significantly lower visual analogue scale and K-WOMAC values than the control group. [Conclusion] The results suggest that resistance exercise using the elastic band is an effective intervention for the pain and function of patients with degenerative knee arthritis.
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[Purpose] This study examined the effects of High Intensity Laser Therapy on pain and function of patients with chronic back pain. [Subjects and Methods] This study evenly divided a total of 20 patients with chronic back pain into a conservative physical therapy group that received conservative physical therapy, and a high intensity laser therapy group that received High Intensity Laser Therapy after conservative physical therapy. All patients received the therapy three times a week for four weeks. For the high intensity laser therapy group, treatment was applied to the L1-L5 and S1 regions for 10 minutes by using a high intensity laser device while vertically maintaining the separation distance from handpiece to skin at approximately 1â cm. A visual analog scale was used to measure the pain and Oswestry Disability Index was used for functional evaluation. [Results] In a within-group comparison of the conservative physical therapy and high intensity laser therapy groups, both the visual analog scale and Oswestry Disability Index significantly decreased. In a between-group comparison after treatment, the high intensity laser therapy group showed a significantly lower visual analog scale and Oswestry Disability Index than the conservative physical therapy group. [Conclusion] High Intensity Laser Therapy can be an effective nonsurgical intervention method for reducing pain and helping the performance of daily routines of patients who have chronic back pain.
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[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of high intensity laser therapy (HILT) on pain and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. [Subjects and Methods] In this study, an experiment was conducted on 20 subjects who were divided into the control group (n=10), which would receive conservative physical therapy (CPT), and the experimental group (n=10), which would receive effects of high intensity laser therapy after conservative physical therapy. All patients received their respective therapies three times each week over a four-week period. In terms of the intensity of the high intensity laser therapy, it was applied to each patient in the tibia and femoral epicondyle for five minutes while the patient's knee joint was bent at around 30° and the separation distance between the handpiece and the skin was maintained at around 1â cm. The visual analogue scale was used to measure pain, and the Korean Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index was used for functional evaluations. [Results] The comparison of differences in the measurements taken before and after the experiment within each group showed a statistically significant decline in both the VAS and the K-WOMAC. The comparison of the two groups showed that the high intensity laser therapy group had statistically significant lower scores in both the visual analogue scale and the Korean Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index than the conservative physical therapy group. [Conclusion] High intensity laser therapy is considered an effective non-surgical intervention for reducing pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis and helping them to perform daily activities.
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OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to evaluate the role of intra-articular joint injection for atlanto-occipital (AO) joint pain and to determine pain referral sites from that joint. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. METHOD: We evaluated 29 patients with chronic refractory neck pain and/or headache, and limited range of lateral bending with rotation at the AO joint on physical examination. Of the 24 patients who consented to undergo diagnostic injections, 20 patients had at least 50% relief from pain and underwent two AO intra-articular injections of mixture of local anesthetic and steroid approximately 1 week apart. Patients completed pain drawings, visual analog scales (VASs) for pain, and neck disability index (NDI) for level of function. Patients were evaluated for 2 months after the first injection. RESULT: There was headache in 14/20 (70%), posterior neck pain (PNP) in 20, and referred pain in 17 (85%). The average VAS values for headache, PNP, and other referred pains were reduced significantly from 5.64, 5.70, and 5.41, respectively, before treatments to 0.64, 2.30, and 1.71, respectively, two months after injection (P < 0.01). The average NDI value was reduced significantly from 39.95% at pretreatment to 20.40% at 2 months after treatment (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: AO intra-articular steroid injection appears effective for the short-term control of chronic refractory pain arising from the AO joint.
