Comparative effects of burst mode alternating current and resisted exercise on physical function, pain intensity and quadriceps strength among patients with primary knee osteoarthritis

Background and objective: The beneficial effect of Resisted Exercise (RE) in Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) rehabilitation is often hamstrung by the presence of other comorbidities affecting exercise implementation, hence the need for comparative alternative therapies. This study compared the effect of Burst Mode Alternating Current (BMAC) and RE in the management of patients with knee OA. Methods: Forty-seven consenting patients with primary knee OA participated in this study. The participants were recruited from the outpatient physiotherapy department of a Nigerian teaching hospital. The participants were randomly assigned into either RE plus BMAC (RBMAC) or RE Only (REO) groups. The effects of intervention were assessed in terms of physical function, pain intensity and quadriceps strength at the 4th and 8th week of intervention. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data at p0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, resisted exercise alone had significant effects on physical function, pain intensity and quadriceps strength in patients with knee osteoarthritis. However, burst mode alternating current did not show additional effects

Hybrid Equation/Agent-Based Model of Ischemia-Induced Hyperemia and Pressure Ulcer Formation Predicts Greater Propensity to Ulcerate in Subjects with Spinal Cord Injury

Pressure ulcers are costly and life-threatening complications for people with spinal cord injury (SCI). People with SCI also exhibit differential blood flow properties in non-ulcerated skin. We hypothesized that a computer simulation of the pressure ulcer formation process, informed by data regarding skin blood flow and reactive hyperemia in response to pressure, could provide insights into the pathogenesis and effective treatment of post-SCI pressure ulcers. Agent-Based Models (ABM) are useful in settings such as pressure ulcers, in which spatial realism is important. Ordinary Differential Equation-based (ODE) models are useful when modeling physiological phenomena such as reactive hyperemia. Accordingly, we constructed a hybrid model that combines ODEs related to blood flow along with an ABM of skin injury, inflammation, and ulcer formation. The relationship between pressure and the course of ulcer formation, as well as several other important characteristic patterns of pressure ulcer formation, was demonstrated in this model. The ODE portion of this model was calibrated to data related to blood flow following experimental pressure responses in non-injured human subjects or to data from people with SCI. This model predicted a higher propensity to form ulcers in response to pressure in people with SCI vs. non-injured control subjects, and thus may serve as novel diagnostic platform for post-SCI ulcer formation. © 2013 Solovyev et al

Efficacy of Glucosomine Iontophoresis in knee osteoarthritis

Iontophoresis is a means of administering medicinal ions in the management of a variety of medical conditions. It is becoming an alternative to oral and injection delivery system of drugs because it is non-invasive, non traumatic and painless and it is specific in drug administration. The purpose of this study was to compare the relative efficacy of glucosamine iontophoresis with that of massage and a control group in managing osteoarthritic knee pain. Fifteen subjects with radiological evidence of knee osteoarthritis participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned into three (3) groups; with five (5) each in iontophoresis, massage and the control groups but only 3 participants completed the treatment procedures in the control group. All treatment groups received baseline treatment of infrared radiation for 15mins followed by quadriceps strengthening exercise with a 10lbs weight for 10 repetitions. Treatments were carried out three times a week for four weeks. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The result of the ANOVA showed that there was significant reduction in pain in the three (3) groups (F=21.97,