Effects of Physical and Vibroacoustic Therapy in Chronic Pain in Juvenile Arthritis

Objectives. The study aimed to evaluate the response to physical and vibroacoustic therapy by studying the Simplifi ed Disease Activity Index (SDAI), together with the psychobehavioral manifestations in moderate and severe forms of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Material and method. 68 children with JIA were randomly divided into two groups. Group I (34 patients) received physical and vibroacoustic therapy with type BRS-2 Bodysonic System. The protocol consisted in vibroacoustic therapy, administrated for 20 minutes per day, 10 days consecutively, and then, one session of 20 minutes per week, up to 12 weeks, together with individualized physical therapy and conventional drugs. Group II (34 patients, witness group) received only conventional therapy (individualized physical and pharmacological therapy), as the vibroacoustic therapy was performed in placebo mode. Results. In Group I, changes in SDAI score resulted in the reduction of the disease activity from severe to moderate, and the decrease in anxiety, chronic fatigability and depressive tendency, with statistically signifi cant differences compared to the witness group. Conclusions. Vibroacoustic therapy is a revolutionary tool in the fi eld of multidisciplinary management of chronic pain in JIA and triggered a noticeable diminution of the SDAI score, decreasing the disease activity from severe to moderate and the psycho-behavioral manifestations, with great statistically signifi cant difference to the witness group (p<0.0001).