Conservative Trio-Therapy for Varus Knee Osteoarthritis: A Prospective Case-Study

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Rheumatology
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of pain and functional limitation, often necessitating joint replacement.
• Conservative therapies aim to alleviate symptoms and improve function, potentially delaying surgical intervention.
• Combination therapies for knee OA remain underexplored, despite the potential for synergistic effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a conservative combination therapy for painful varus knee OA.
• To assess the impact of a trio-therapy on pain, function, quality of life, and sports activity.

Main Methods:

• A prospective case-study involving nine patients with painful varus knee OA (mean age 56).
• Patients received a six-month standardized trio-therapy: varus-reducing hindfoot shoe-insoles, oral viscosupplementation, and physiotherapy.
• Clinical outcomes measured using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Short-Form-36 (SF-36) for quality of life, and sports frequency score.

Main Results:

• Significant reduction in pain, with VAS scores decreasing from 5.4 to 0.6 (p < 0.01).
• Seven out of nine patients reported no pain (VAS 0) after six months.
• Significant improvement in WOMAC scores (35 to 2; p < 0.01) and SF-36 scores across physical and mental health domains.
• Increased sports frequency in six out of nine patients.

Conclusions:

• The conservative trio-therapy demonstrated significant positive clinical outcomes in patients with varus knee OA.
• The combination therapy effectively reduced pain, enhanced function, improved quality of life, and increased sports activity.
• Further research is warranted to ascertain the long-term efficacy of this conservative approach.