Effect of biofeedback and deep oscillation on Raynaud's phenomenon secondary to systemic sclerosis: results of a controlled prospective randomized clinical trial

Rheumatol Int. 2012 May;32(5):1469-73. doi: 10.1007/s00296-011-1882-2. Epub 2011 Apr 8.

Abstract

Our aim was to evaluate the effect of deep oscillation and biofeedback on Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) secondary to systemic sclerosis (SSc). A prospective randomized study was performed in SSc patients receiving either deep oscillation (n = 10) or biofeedback (n = 8) thrice a week for 4 weeks, or patients were randomized into the waiting group untreated for vasculopathy (n = 10) in time of running the study interventions. Biofeedback resulted in an improvement of RP as determined by score reduction of visual analogue scale compared with patients of the control group (P < 0.05), whereas deep oscillation revealed a tendency for improvement (P = 0.055). The study underlines the beneficial role of physiotherapy for the treatment of SSc-related RP.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00946738.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Biofeedback, Psychology*
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • Female
  • Germany
  • Humans
  • Linear Models
  • Magnetic Field Therapy*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Physical Therapy Modalities*
  • Prospective Studies
  • Raynaud Disease / diagnosis
  • Raynaud Disease / etiology
  • Raynaud Disease / therapy*
  • Scleroderma, Systemic / complications
  • Scleroderma, Systemic / diagnosis
  • Scleroderma, Systemic / therapy*
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Time Factors
  • Treatment Outcome

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00946738