Ann Rehabil Med.  2013 Aug;37(4):505-515. 10.5535/arm.2013.37.4.505.

Therapeutic Effect of Whole Body Vibration on Chronic Knee Osteoarthritis

• Park YG
• Kwon BS
• Park JW
• Cha DY
• Nam KY
• Sim KB
• Chang J
• Lee HJ

• KMID: 2266606
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5535/arm.2013.37.4.505

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect on pain reduction and strengthening of the whole body vibration (WBV) in chronic knee osteoarthritis (OA).
METHODS
Patients were randomly divided into two groups: the study group (WBV with home based exercise) and control group (home based exercise only). They performed exercise and training for 8 weeks. Eleven patients in each group completed the study. Pain intensity was measured with the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), functional scales were measured with Korean Western Ontario McMaster score (KWOMAC) and Lysholm Scoring Scale (LSS), quadriceps strength was measured with isokinetic torque and isometric torque and dynamic balance was measured with the Biodex Stability System. These measurements were performed before training, at 1 month after training and at 2 months after training.
RESULTS
NRS was significantly decreased in each group, and change of pain intensity was significantly larger in the study group than in the control group after treatment. Functional improvements in KWOMAC and LSS were found in both groups, but no significant differences between the groups after treatment. Dynamic balance, isokinetic strength of right quadriceps and isometric strengths of both quadriceps muscles improved in both groups, but no significant differences between the groups after treatment. Isokinetic strength of left quadriceps did not improve in both groups after treatment.
CONCLUSION
In chronic knee OA patients, WBV reduced pain intensity and increased strength of the right quadriceps and dynamic balance performance. In comparison with the home based exercise program, WBV was superior only in pain reduction and similarly effective in strengthening of the quadriceps muscle and balance improvement.

Keyword

Knee; Muscle strength; Osteoarthritis; Pain; Vibration

MeSH Terms

Humans
Knee
Muscle Strength
Ontario
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis, Knee
Quadriceps Muscle
Torque
Vibration
Weights and Measures

Figure

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  Fig. 1 A woman stands on the vibrating platform of whole body vibration (TurboSonic) with a slight flexion of both knees.

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  Fig. 2 The graph shows changes in physical function over time. The changes of (A) Korean Western Ontario McMaster score (KWOMAC) and (B) Lysholm Scoring Scale (LSS) were significantly different between baseline and 2 months in both groups. But there was no significant differences study between study group and control group. Asterisk (*) indicates statistical significance between baseline and 2 months (p<0.05).

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  Fig. 3 The graph shows changes of knee extensor muscle strength: (A) isokinetic torque (60°/sec) and (B) isometric torque in both groups. (A) Isokinetic torques of right knee extensor increased significantly over time during training period in both groups and there were no significant differences between study group and control group. Isokinetic torques of left knee extensor was not significantly different during training period in each group and between groups. (B) Isometric torques of both knee extensors increased significantly over time during training period and there were no significant differences between groups during training period. Asterisk (*) indicates statistical significance between baseline and 1 month (p<0.05) and double asterisk (**) indicates statistical significance between baseline and 2 months. ISK, isokinetic; ISM, isometric; Rt, right; Lt, left.

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  Fig. 4 The graph shows changes in dynamic balance over time in both groups. Anterior-posterior (AP) index and medial-lateral (ML) index significantly improved at 1 month and 2 months, respectively, but there was no significant difference between study group and control group. Asterisk (*) indicates statistical significance between baseline and 1 month (p<0.05) and double asterisk (**) indicates statistical significance between baseline and 2 months (p<0.05).

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