[Physical therapy in degenerative diseases of the joints]

By virtue of their wide spreading and their effects on the social working ability degenerative joint diseases increasingly gain significance. In the concept of therapy of this group of disease apart from pharmacotherapy and operative treatment physiotherapy plays an important role. After having proved that kinetotherapy is a form of treatment which is to be prescribed in the first place, the passive therapeutic methods such as thermotherapy (heat and cold), application of ultrasound, electrotherapeutic procedures, massages promising success in arthrosis are described and questions of dosage are discussed. At the same time the significance of a health resort therapy for this group of diseases in discussed. After a randomized analysis which includes 1,893 patients with arthrosis the ratio of active to passive forms of therapy during a course of treatment in the state health resorts Bad Brambach--Bad Elster in 44 to 56%. Finally it is referred to the particular tasks of the pre- and postoperative physiotherapy in the advanced stages of an arthrosis before and after implantation of artificial joint replacement.