Purpose: This trial compared the clinical effectiveness of a combination of microcurrent therapy (M) with conventional postoperative physiotherapy treatment versus the combination of the latter with a sham (S) treatment after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in terms of patient-related functional outcome parameters.
Methods: A total of 78 inpatients after TKA was randomized into the active versus the sham treatment samples; all patients received ten applications of their respective therapy assignment. The primary clinical endpoint of the investigation was defined as the three-months intraindividual change (%) in a patient's OSWESTRY total function score after start of treatment. Secondary endpoints were the WOMAC osteoarthritis index as well as a patient's pain profile as assessed by a visual analogue scale before start of treatment, after five and ten therapeutic applications, and three months after discharge from hospital.
Results: The M sample showed a median increase of 31% (22-38%) in the OSWESTRY total score from 53% before start of treatment to 91% three months afterwards; the control sample showed an increase of 18% (3-31%) in median from 56 % to 78%; the samples differed significantly in this three-months increase (p<0,001) but not in the baseline OSWESTRY score before start of treatment (p=0,841).
Conclusion: This randomized trial could demonstrate statistically significant superiority of microcurrent therapy embedded in conventional postoperative rehabilitation treatment after TKA versus the combination with a sham treatment. The results indicate an early introduction of microcurrent therapy concepts into postoperative treatment.
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart New York.