BACKGROUND Patient-reported outcome measures have become a well-recognised part of outcome assessment in orthopaedic surgery. These questionnaires claim to measure joint-specific dimensions like pain, function in activities of daily living, joint awareness or stiffness. Interference of the patient's psychological status with these orthopaedic questionnaires however may make accurate interpretat...

OBJECTIVES The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Guidelines for the medical management of osteoarthritis (OA) emphasize the use of nonpharmacologic interventions including exercise. Implementation of an exercise program can be difficult for patients, and little is known about the benefits of alternative therapies such as yoga. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of us...

ACUPUNCTURE IN MEDICINE 2001;19(1):19-26. www.medical-acupuncture.co.uk/aimintro.htm Summary Acupuncture is becoming a common technique within the physiotherapy profession as a treatment modality for pain relief; however, few randomised controlled trials have been undertaken to assess the effectiveness of acupuncture, particularly in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. Therefore, a...

BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic-degenerative disease. The knee is the most commonly affected joint and the symptoms are generally attributed to quadriceps muscle weakness. However, few studies have evaluated this relationship in a population with early stages of knee OA. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether a correlation among the knee extensor torque and the three subscales of the WO...

BACKGROUND This small, pilot study evaluated the impact of treatment with a natural multi-mineral supplement from seaweed (Aquamin) on walking distance, pain and joint mobility in subjects with moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the knee. METHODS Subjects (n = 70) with moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the knee were randomized to four double-blinded treatments for 12 weeks: (a) Glucosami...

BACKGROUND Efficient approaches are needed for delivering nonpharmacological interventions for management of knee osteoarthritis (OA). OBJECTIVE This trial compared group-based versus individual physical therapy interventions for management of knee OA. DESIGN AND METHODS Three hundred twenty patients with knee OA at the VA Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, (mean age=60 years, 88% ma...

OBJECTIVE To assess the genetic association of pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and those with multiple regional pain with the R1150W variant in the α-subunit of the voltage-gated sodium channel Na(V)1.7. METHODS Knee OA patients from 2 UK cohorts (1,411 from the Genetics of Osteoarthritis and Lifestyle study and 267 from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study; 74% with symptomatic OA) ...

BACKGROUND Many people suffer with Osteoarthritis (OA) and subsequent morbidity. Therefore, measuring outcome associated with OA is important. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) has been a widely used patient reported outcome in OA. However, there is relatively little evidence to support the use of the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) version of the scale. We ...

OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy and safety of chondroitin sulfate plus glucosamine hydrochloride (CS+GH) versus celecoxib in patients with knee osteoarthritis and severe pain. METHODS Double-blind Multicentre Osteoarthritis interVEntion trial with SYSADOA (MOVES) conducted in France, Germany, Poland and Spain evaluating treatment with CS+GH versus celecoxib in 606 patients with Kellgren an...

The mechanism of neuropathic pain (NP) and osteoarthritic (OA) pain, although different, are both defined as chronic pain, and combinations are possible. In this study, the awareness of both types of chronic pain was investigated among patients and doctors. This prospective study was planned and coordinated by the orthopedic and internal medicine clinics and included 100 patients with a diagnos...