Manual Therapy Versus Exercise on Knee Osteoarthritis

Phase 2TerminatedNCT00988468

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center1 enrolled

Overview

Earlier research has shown that exercising while receiving manual therapy improves function and reduces pain in people with knee osteoarthritis. However, very little is known about the mechanisms by which manual therapy and exercise reduce pain and improve function. This study will ask subjects with knee osteoarthritis to receive one of the following interventions: (1) no treatment, (2) exercise only, or (3) manual therapy only. Measures will be taken of the patient's knee range of motion, knee swelling and pain before and after receiving the intervention. These measures will be analyzed to determine what effect exercise and manual therapy applied to the knee have on improving knee range of motion and reducing knee pain and swelling. Swelling will be measured using an ultrasound device which is used to take pictures inside the knee. This type of ultrasound measurement is painless and harmless.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Knee Osteoarthritis

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 89 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis. Exclusion Criteria: * Inability to ambulate at least 100 feet, ride a stationary bicycle for at least 10 minutes, or lie in the prone position for at least 10 minutes, * Intra-articular knee injection within one month of study inception, * A history of exercise induced or uncontrolled angina within three months of the study entry, * Severe dyspnea at rest, * Previous bilateral total knee arthroplasty, * Pregnancy, OR * The absence of knee pain at the time of recruitment for the study.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Suprapatellar effusion measured via diagnostic ultrasound

Time frame: Outcome measure will be measured 1 minute prior to intervention and 1 minute after intervention.

Secondary Outcomes

Pain Visual Analog Scale

Time frame: Outcome measure will be measured 3 minutes prior to intervention and 3 minutes after intervention.

Goniometric knee arc range of motion

Time frame: Outcome measure will be measured 5 minutes prior to intervention and 5 minutes after intervention.

Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Index of osteoarthritis of the knee

Time frame: Outcome measure will be measured 12 minutes prior to intervention and 7 minutes after intervention.