MedPath

Decompression Versus Heat and Decompression in Knee OA

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Knee Osteoarthritis
Registration Number
NCT06428071
Lead Sponsor
University of Hail
Brief Summary

a randomized controlled trial tends to compare the effects of adding superficial heating during the application of knee decompression session to the results of decompression alone without heating.

Detailed Description

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive multifactorial joint disease characterized by chronic pain and functional disability due to the degeneration of the articular cartilage. The knee joint is the most vulnerable joint in the human body and occupies four-fifths of the burden of OA worldwide. Subjects having KOA demonstrate deferent clinical and radiological characteristics such as narrowed joint space, osteophytes around the articular surface, subchondral sclerosis, pain, limited range of motion (ROM), and declined functional status.

Except for the arthroplasty for the severely arthritic knee joint, there is no cure for the degeneration of joint cartilage. Medications, exercises, and physical agents can be used to address the associated pain, muscular tightness, weakness, and physical disability.

Interestingly, previous efforts that applied traction (decompression) on the arthritic knee joint demonstrated favorable results even on the thickness of the articular cartilage. However, these methods were mainly invasive surgical procedures that encountered disadvantages like the risk of infection and prolonged bedridden that might affect the general health of the patients

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
75
Inclusion Criteria
  • Both sexes
  • age between 45 to 60 years.
  • Normal and or overweight categories of BMI 19-30 kg/m2
  • Unilateral (grade 2 and 3) knee OA according to the Kellgren-Lawrence radiological rating scale
Exclusion Criteria
  • lower limb deformities as genu varum, valgus, flat foot
  • leg length discrepancy
  • previous trauma and or surgery to the knee joint
  • Bone disease
  • Inability to refrain from analgesic/anti-inflammatory medications for 6 weeks

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
active knee range of motionafter the end of the treatment (after 6 weeks)

this outcome will be assessed using a vlaid and reliable android-mobile application designed to assess joint range of motion (ROM). The mobile phone will be secured to the lateral aspect of the leg so that the normal extension will be represented as zero on the app screen. The patient will be asked to move the tested knee from the maximum extension to the maximum available flexion. The value of the angle will be recorded. The difference between the extension angle and flexion angle will be calculated.

functionafter the end of the treatment (after 6 weeks)

It is consisted of 24 questions, five related to pain, two related to stiffness and 17 to physical function. Its reliability was proved in previous work.the questions in this scale takes from 0 to 4 points and the total will be calculated. higher scores indicate more disability

pain intensityafter the end of the treatment (after 6 weeks)

Visual Analog Scale (VAS) will be used to assess pain. This scale is proved to be valid and reliable mean of assessing pain. The patient's pain intensity is represented by a point between the extremes of "no pain at all" and "worst pain imaginable." The outcomes range between no pain to sever pain according to the distance in mm measured from the 0 point of the horizontal line.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Hisham Hussein

🇸🇦

Hail, Saudi Arabia

Hisham Hussein
🇸🇦Hail, Saudi Arabia

MedPath

Empowering clinical research with data-driven insights and AI-powered tools.

© 2025 MedPath, Inc. All rights reserved.