Breakthrough In Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis

There has been a promising outcome based on a study using
home-based neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to enhance
quadriceps fitness in older people suffering from Osteoarthritis of the
knee.

Symptoms of this "wear-and-tear" arthritis can be alleviated by
strengthening the muscle around the affected joint or joints. Exercise is
known to lessen the symptoms, severity and impairment resulting from
this disease. In some cases where sufferers are normally sedentary,
exercise may result in muscle damage, particularly in women.

The NMES Study

Laura Talbot of The Johns Hopkins University engineered the study using
neuromuscular electrical stimulation as another method of treatment for
Osteoarthritis of the knee.

This process is undertaken by spurring small electrical currents through
the skin, allowing them to travel to the nerves and muscles to enable
involuntary muscle contraction. A total of 34 adults diagnosed
radiographically (through x-rays) to have Osteoarthritis of the knee
participated in the study.

The 34 participants were randomly chosen to undergo a 12-week
Arthritis Self-Management Course on standard arthritis education, with
or without NMES. The group subjected to NMES was provided with
portable electrical muscle stimulators to be used 3 days a week to train
and strengthen their quadriceps. Over a 12-week period, the isometric
contractions were amplified by increments of 30 to 40% of the maximum.

The main outcome was isometric quadriceps femoris (QF) torque.

Secondary outcomes included:

->daily step counts

->total activity vector magnitude

->100-foot walk-turn-walk

->timed stair climb

->chair rise

->pain level

The results point towards:

->An increase of 9.1% in 120 degree QF peak torque with the use of the
stimulated-knee extensor contrasting with a 7% loss in the education
only group.

->Timed chair rise was cut by 11% in the NMES group, while the
education only group showed a mere 7% decrease.

->Both groups exhibited a 7% faster walk time

->Pain levels in both groups remained the same despite intervention.

Researchers of this study came to the conclusion that applying the
home-based NMES treatment method may hold some promise in
enhancing quadriceps strength among adult sufferers of Osteoarthritis of
the knee, without worsening arthritic symptoms.