RegentK and Physiotherapy Support Knee Function after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture without Surgery after 1 Year: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Recent data have opened the debate on whether conservative treatment of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture might be an alternative treatment option to surgery. In a previous study, such a conservative treatment, i.e. 'Regenerative Therapy According to Mohammed Khalifa' (RegentK), had shown good effects over physiotherapy. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial assessing the efficacy of 1 session of RegentK compared to the myofascial mobilization technique (MMT), another type of intensive physiotherapy, in 20 patients with fresh ACL rupture during the previous 4 weeks. The International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) 2000 score was measured before, immediately after, and 3 months after treatment, and 1 year later; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were taken before treatment and 1 year after treatment. RESULTS: Both groups were comparable at baseline. A repeated measures analysis of variance showed a strong effect of time (p < 0.0001; partial η2 = 0.81) and no significant interaction or group effect. Both groups reached near full function after 1 year. The IKDC score was 90.9 (standard deviation (SD) 6.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) 86.2-95.6) for the RegentK group and 93.3 (SD 3.1; 95% CI 91.1-95.5) for the MMT group. CONCLUSION: One treatment session of enhanced MMT physiotherapy or RegentK can lead to nearly full function and thus recovery of a ruptured ACL after 1 year.

[RegentK Improves the Gait Mechanics of Patients with Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture Immediately after Application: Clinical Trial].

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the immediate response to RegentK (Regeneration-Therapy by Khalifa) of patients with an acute rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), regarding the gait mechanics and functional tests, in comparison to norm data. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 9 male patients with an acute unilateral ACL rupture underwent an orthopedic exam and gait analysis immediately before and after the 1-h RegentK treatment; the results were compared to norm data of 10 healthy participants matched with the RegentK group for age and body mass index. An infrared camera system collected kinematic gait data on the injured limb; the gait kinetics were recorded with 2 force plates. RESULTS: Immediately after the treatment, significant improvements with regard to limping, the quadriceps knee force, and the passive knee range of motion (ROM) occurred. The gait characteristics showed a significantly increased gait velocity (+0.17 m/s), step frequency (+8 steps/min), and injured-limb step length (+5 cm). The faster gait velocity involved increased sagittal ankle and hip ROM, increased maximal vertical ground reaction forces, internal ankle plantar flexion and hip flexion moments. CONCLUSIONS: RegentK seems to immediately affect functional parameters such as passive knee joint motion and quadriceps strength and seems to enable patients to walk more dynamically, generally expressed through an increased walking speed.