Immediate Effects of Patella Taping in Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of patella taping on pain and disability in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHOD: Using a within-subjects study design, 54 patients were tested under three conditions in random order: untaped, wearing therapeutic knee tape and wearing control knee tape. Outcome measure was pain as measured by visual analogue scale and disability as measured by walking speed, timed up and go test, and step test. RESULTS: The therapeutic tape significantly reduced pain, when compared with the control and untaped conditions (p0.05). A significant association between change of pain in stairs and lateral patellofemoral joint space was evident (r=0.503, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Therapeutic knee tape is a simple, inexpensive strategy that increases the treatment options for therapists and patients in the conservative management of knee OA.

Correlation between Bone Mineral Density and Interverterbral Disc Degeneration

OBJECTIVE: To examine the correlation between bone mineral density and intervertebral disc degeneration through retrospective study. METHOD: Bone mineral density (BMD) and Magnetic resonance (MR) image of lumbar spine from 61 postmenopausal women were assessed to examine the correlation between bone mineral density and intervertebral disc degeneration. We determined BMD of lumbar spine using the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). And we evaluated signal intensity of intervertebral disc, disc height and disc herniation at each lumbar disc level using the MR image. The correlation between BMD (mean value of 2nd, 3rd and 4th lumbar spine BMD) and the sum of grading scores of intervertebral disc degeneration was assessed in all the patients. RESULTS: There was a positive correlation between BMD of lumbar spine and the sum of grading scores of intervertebral disc degeneration (r=0.415, p value=0.00087). CONCLUSION: Bone mineral density has an inverse correlation to intervertebral disc degeneration and which is important when considering degenerative spinal disease and osteoporosis.