Effectiveness of extracorporeal shockwave therapy versus therapeutic ultrasound in patients with moderate knee osteoarthritis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61581/mjsp.v7i03.408Keywords:
Osteoarthritis, Knee pain, Therapeutic ultrasound, Extracorporeal shockwave therapy, Randomized controlled TrialAbstract
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of ESWT and TUS on pain, stiffness and functional status in patients with moderate KOA.
Methodology: The participants were, both male and female, aged between 41 to 65 years, diagnosed with moderate KOA. The participants were recruited at two study sites. One was “Laeeque Rafiq Hospital” and second was the “Barki Advance Physiotherapy Center”. The participants were then randomized into three groups using a lottery method. The Group A received ESWT and followed a standardized KOA exercise program twice weekly, Group B received TUS and followed a standardized KOA exercise program three times per week, and Group C (control group) followed only standardized KOA exercise program without any electrotherapy interventions for three sessions per week. The intervention period consisted of four weeks. The assessment measures were done at baseline (before the start of interventions and after four-week intervention period. Outcome measures Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 and Microsoft Excel software. We used Kruskal-Wallis test for between groups analysis and Wilcoxn test for within group analysis, with a p-value < 0.05 considered statistically significant. The study reported that all groups demonstrated statistically significant within-group improvements in NPRS and WOMAC scores after four-week treatment period.
Results: After 4 weeks of treatment the NPRS showed statistically significant difference between three groups with p = 0.001 indicating that all interventions produced similar improvements in NPRS scores but the WOMAC scores showed no statistically significant difference among the three groups in post-treatment scores (H = 0.669, df = 2, p = 0.716).
Conclusion: The present study revealed that ESWT, TUS and exercise protocol can be used as effective methods to improve pain and physical function in managing moderate KOA. However, the outcomes with ESWT were slightly better in relieving pain compared to TUS and the control group. Therefore, ESWT may be considered an effective and beneficial treatment option for pain management in patients with moderate KOA, while TUS and exercise therapy also remain useful conservative treatment approaches.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rana Muhammad Arslan, Sajid Rashid, Muhammad Hassan Sajid, Ayyan Ahmad
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