[Physical therapy of arthroses]

The physical therapy of arthrosis as a symptomatic and stage-oriented therapy is illustrated in a review. All of the various therapeutic procedures are discussed regarding their effectiveness and applicability in the different stages. There have been some changes within the last few decades and treatments have been introduced with more or less success. Mild thermotherapy of active arthrosis, suggested earlier, has been replaced by cryotherapy, which is more effective. Peloid therapy has now also been introduced into this cryotherapy, which only used to be applied as a type of heat therapy. Naturally, most of the new developments are in the field of electrotherapy. Nevertheless, the newer types have not led to any significant improvement in therapeutic success compared with "classical" electrotherapy (diadynamic, Träbert ultrastimulation, interferential current). The only remarkable innovation seems to be therapy with low-frequency magnetic fields, although the basic means of the working mechanism have not been thoroughly investigated. Regarding the most recent publications, laser therapy has not shown complete proof of its effectiveness. Passive physical therapy of arthrosis only shows persistent success when it is combined with a careful amount of physical therapy.