Relieve arthritic knee pain without surgery or drugs

This is the type of physical activity that improves knee osteoarthritis

You can already make a precise and rapid diagnosis of arthritis in just 10 minutes

Putting your hand to the knee because of pain is an increasingly common gesture. We live more years and with better health, but aging brings certain associated pathologies such as osteoarthritis. In fact, as the International Osteoarthritis Foundation, The disease has grown more than 70% in 20 years and continues to increase.

Other data. Knee pain represents 50% of all locomotor device consultations. More than 20% of them are related to osteoarthritis. However, new news for those affected by osteoarthritis or knee arthriitis arrives. We know that Osteoarthritis degrades the cartilage that cushions the joints, and currently there is no way to reverse this damage: the only option is to control pain with medications and, eventually, arthroplasty.

Now, researchers from the Utah Universitythe New York University and the Stanford University (All in the US) are demonstrating the potential of another option: The resentment of the march.

A Foot Adjustment When walking

When making a small adjustment at the foot angle when walking, the participants of a randomized controlled trial one year They experienced a pain relief equivalent to that of medication. It should be noted that these also had a lower degradation of the knee cartilage during that period, compared to a group that received a placebo treatment.

Published in TyI have lancet Rheumatology and co -directed by Scott Uhlrich of the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering of Utah, these findings They come from the first placebo controlled study that demonstrates the effectiveness of a biomechanical intervention for osteoarthritis.

“We know that, in people with osteoarthritis, a greater load in the knee accelerates the progression, and that modifying the angle of the foot can reduce the load on the articulation. Therefore, the idea of ​​a biomechanical intervention is not new, but no randomized and controlled studies have been carried out with placebo that demonstrate its effectiveness.” Uhlrich said in a statement from unversity.

With the support of National Institutes of the US and other federal agencies, the researchers specifically analyzed patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis in the medial compartment of the knee (on the internal part of the leg), which tends to withstand more weight than the lateral compartment (external). This type of osteoarthritis is the most common, But the ideal angle of the foot to reduce the load on the medial side of the knee varies from one person to another, depending on their natural march and how it changes when adopting the new march pattern.

Personalized approach

“Previous essays prescribed the same intervention to all individuals, which turned out that some do not reduce, or even increase, the articular load. We used a personalized approach to select the new pattern of march of each individual, which improved each other’s ability to download the knee and probably contributed to the positive effect observed on pain and cartilage,” the researcher insisted.

In their first two visits, The participants underwent a basal magnetic resonance and practiced a pressure sensitive running tapewhile movement cameras recorded the mechanics of their march. This allowed researchers to determine whether to turn the patient’s foot in or out would reduce the load, and if an adjustment of 5 ° or 10 ° would be ideal.

This personalized analysis also excluded possible participants who could not benefit from the interventionsince none of the changes in the angle of the foot managed to reduce the load on the knees. These participants participated in previous studies, which could have contributed to the non -conclusive results on pain in these studies.

In addition, after the initial admission sessions, half of the 68 participants were assigned to a simulated treatment group to control the placebo effect. These participants were prescribed foot angles identical to their natural march. On the contrary, the participants of the intervention group were prescribed the change of foot angle that reduced the load on the knee to the maximum.

The participants of both groups returned to the laboratory for six weekly training sessions, where they received bioretroalimentation (vibrations of a device placed in the pimp) that helped them maintain the prescribed angle of the foot on the laboratory’s running tape. After six -week training, participants were encouraged to practice their new march for at least 20 minutes a day, until it became natural. Periodic control visits showed that participants adhered to the prescribed foot angle with a difference of an average degree.

After a year

After a year, everyone reported on their knee pain experience and They were performed a second magnetic resonance to quantitatively evaluate the damage to the knee cartilage.

“The decrease in documented pain in the placebo group was between the expected of a free sales medication, such as ibuprofen, and a narcotic, such as the Oxycodone. With magnetic resonances, we also observe a slower degradation of a cartilage health marker in the intervention group, which was very promising, “the researcher recalled.

The satisfaction of the participants

Beyond the quantitative measures of effectiveness, the study participants expressed enthusiasm both for the approach and the results. One of them has reported: “I don’t have to take any medication or use any device … It is simply a part of my body that will accompany me for the rest of my days, so I am delighted.”

The ability of patients to adhere to the intervention for long periods of time is one of their possible advantages. “Especially for people aged 30, 40 or 50, osteoarthritis could involve decades of pain control before a joint replacement is recommended. This intervention could help cover that great therapeutic gap,” said Uhrlich.

Before this intervention can be implemented clinically, It will be necessary to optimize the march rehearsing process. The movement capture technique used to determine the original foot angle is expensive and requires a lot of time; The researchers expect this intervention to eventually be prescribed in a physiotherapy clinic and that the resentment can be carried out while people walk through their neighborhood.

“We and others have developed a technology that could be used to customize and manage this intervention in a clinical environment through mobile sensors, such as the video of a smartphone and an ‘smart shoe’. Future studies are needed on this approach before the intervention can be widely available to the public“The scientist reiterated.