What is it about?
On this systematic review paper we aimed to evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on pain and function in individuals with Knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The disease affects millions of individuals worldwide and is a leading cause of disability and medical costs. Treatment options for KOA are few, and have frequent toxicities.
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Why is it important?
There is an unmet need for non-pharmacological therapeutic strategies that improve the overall quality of life of these individuals. These strategies could result in socioeconomic benefits, helping to manage the burden of the disease. Cryotherapy has low cost and is considered easy to administrate by health professionals as well as by patients in the clinical practice or at home, to control pain and the inflammatory process.
Perspectives
Although some clinical guidelines recommend the use of cryotherapy to manage knee osteoarthritis symptoms, there is still insufficient evidence regarding its use for this population. We hope that future clinical trials are developed to provide scientific evidence for the effects of cryotherapy in knee osteoarthritis, since it is a relatively cheap therapy and when applied properly, presents no colateral effects.
Lucas Dantas
Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The effects of cryotherapy on pain and function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials, Clinical Rehabilitation, April 2019, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0269215519840406.
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