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Dry Needling Versus Conventional Physical Therapy in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Knee Osteoarthritis
Interventions
Other: Conventional PT
Other: Dry Needling, Conventional PT
Registration Number
NCT02373631
Lead Sponsor
Alabama Physical Therapy & Acupuncture
Brief Summary

The purpose of this research is to compare the effectiveness of conventional physical therapy (manual physical therapy, exercise, range of motion, and stretching) versus conventional physical therapy combined with dry needling in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Physical therapists commonly use conventional physical therapy techniques and dry needling to treat knee OA, and this study is attempting to find out if the addition of dry needling to conventional physical therapy has an equal, greater, or lesser effect than conventional physical therapy alone.

Detailed Description

Patients with knee OA will be randomized to receive 1-2 treatments per week for 6 weeks (up to 10 sessions total) of either: (1) Dry Needling and conventional physical therapy or the (2) Conventional physical therapy (manual physical therapy, exercise, range of motion and stretching)

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
105
Inclusion Criteria
  1. Report of knee pain of at least 2/10 per NPRS (0---10 scale) for >3 months

  2. Report of at least 3 of the following per Altman et al. (1986)

    • Over 50 Years of age
    • Less than 30 minutes of morning stiffness
    • Crepitus on active motion
    • Bony tenderness
    • Bony enlargement
    • No palpable warmth of synovium
Exclusion Criteria
  1. Report of red flags to manual physical therapy to include: hypertension, infection, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, heart disease, stroke, chronic ischemia, edema, severe varicosities, tumor, metabolic disease, prolonged steroid use, fracture, RA, osteoporosis, severe vascular disease, malignancy, etc.

  2. History of previous surgery to the knee

  3. History of physical therapy, massage therapy, chiropractic treatment, or injections for knee pain in the last 4 weeks

  4. History of a surgical procedure on either lower extremity in last 6 months

  5. Two or more positive neurologic signs consistent with nerve root compression, including any two of the following:

    • Weakness involving a major muscle group of the lower extremity.
    • Diminished patella or achilles tendon reflex
    • Diminished or absent sensation to pinprick in lower extremity dermatome
  6. Involvement in litigation or worker's compensation regarding knee pain.

  7. Any condition that might contraindicate the use of electro-needling

  8. The patient is pregnant.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Conventional PTConventional PT-
Dry Needling, Conventional PTDry Needling, Conventional PT-
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Knee Pain Intensity (NPRS)Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months
Change in Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Pain)Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months

5 Questions each worth 0-4 points with a maximum score of 20 points possible

Change in Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Stiffness)Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months

2 Questions each worth 0-4 points with a maximum score of 8 points possible

Change in Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Physical Function)Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months

17 Questions each worth 0-4 points with a maximum score of 68 points possible

Change in Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Total)Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months

24 Questions each worth 0-4 points with a maximum score of 96 points possible

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Global Rating of Change Score (GROC)2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 3 Months
Change in Medicine Intake (Frequency of medication intake)Baseline, 3 months

Frequency of medication intake (narcotics and over-the-counter) for knee pain

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Alabama Physical Therapy & Acupuncture

🇺🇸

Montgomery, Alabama, United States

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