Several individual RCTs demonstrated clinical ly important improvements in pain and disability with aerobic exercise .
Other PT interventions demonstrated no sustained benefit .
Individual RCTs showed similar benefits with aerobic , aquatic , and strengthening exercise .
Adverse events were uncommon and did not deter participants from continuing treatment .
Low-strength evidence suggested that only a few PT interventions were effective .
BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability .
Nonsurgical treatment is a key first step .
PURPOSE Systematic literature review of physical therapy ( PT ) interventions for community-dwelling adults with knee osteoarthritis .
No additional benefit of shortwave diathermy over exercise program for knee osteoarthritis in peri-/post-menopausal women: an equivalence trial.
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the benefit of shortwave diathermy ( SWD ) supplemented to an exercise program for knee osteoarthritis ( OA ) in peri-/post-menopausal women . METHODS A double-blind r and omized placebo-controlled equivalence trial was conducted in a university hospital . Participants including 113 women aged 50 - 85 years with primary knee OA were instructed to do regular quadriceps exercise , and r and omized to control ( n=60 ) and treatment ( n=53 ) groups receiving sham SWD and therapeutic SWD , respectively . The treatment being evaluated was continuous SWD , 20 min/session , 3 sessions/week for 3 weeks . The outcomes including Thai Western Ontario and McMaster Universities OA ( WOMAC ) index , 100-m walking speed , stair ascent- and -descent time , global assessment , patient 's satisfaction , and adverse events were assessed at baseline and end of treatment . RESULTS At the end of treatment , both groups had trivial but statistical improvement in all outcomes . Intention-to-treat analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups in all outcomes . Per protocol analysis demonstrated the equivalence in Thai WOMAC total score , as the 95 % confidence interval of difference ( -0.62 , 0.92 ) was within confidence limits of + /-1 cm . CONCLUSION The addition of SWD to an exercise program for knee OA in peri-/post-menopausal women is not superior to the exercise program alone
Several individual RCTs demonstrated clinical ly important improvements in pain and disability with aerobic exercise .
Other PT interventions demonstrated no sustained benefit .
Individual RCTs showed similar benefits with aerobic , aquatic , and strengthening exercise .
Adverse events were uncommon and did not deter participants from continuing treatment .
Low-strength evidence suggested that only a few PT interventions were effective .
BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability .
Nonsurgical treatment is a key first step .
PURPOSE Systematic literature review of physical therapy ( PT ) interventions for community-dwelling adults with knee osteoarthritis .