Comparison of the Effects of Ultrasound-guided Genicular Nerve Block and Conventional Physical Therapy on Pain, Functionality and Balance in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis
Comparison of the Effects of Ultrasound-guided Genicular Nerve Block and Conventional Physical Therapy on Pain, Functionality and Balance in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis
Knee arthritis is a chronic joint disease that causes pain, disability and impaired quality of life, leading to significant social and health problems worldwide. Moreover, these public and economic impacts related to osteoarthritis of the knee are expected to increase in the future. With the global increase in the proportion of the elderly population, overall obesity rates and the associated incidence of osteoarthritis of the knee, clinicians are now focusing on new treatment strategies. The diagnosis is usually made by history, physical examination and radiography (X-ray) and there is no need for additional examination.
Today, both non-surgical and surgical interventions are used in the treatment of knee arthritis. Non-surgical options include patient education, weight loss, physical therapy (PT), support or foot orthosis, oral painkillers, non-cortisol anti-inflammatory drugs, cortisols, hyaluronic acid, plasma injections rich in platelets, prolotherapy, stem cell therapy and genicular nerve blocks.
The aim of the study was to compare the benefits of genicular nerve block and physical therapy in volunteers with knee pain for more than 3 months like you and to determine the most appropriate method.
In this study, Genicular nerve block and Physical therapy in patients with knee arthritis;
A total of 66 participants will be included in the study. Participants will be randomly assigned to three groups by envelope selection method. Your treatment method will be determined according to the treatment method in the envelope you choose.
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic joint disease that causes pain, disability and impaired quality of life, leading to significant social and health problems worldwide. Moreover, these public and economic impacts related to KOA are expected to increase in the future. With the global increase in the proportion of the elderly population, overall obesity rates and the associated incidence of KOA, clinicians are now focusing on new treatment strategies.
Currently, both non-surgical and surgical interventions are used to treat KOA. Non-surgical options include patient education, self-management strategies, weight loss, physical therapy (PT), brace or foot orthosis, oral analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, hyaluronic acid, platelet-rich plasma injections, prolotherapy stem cell therapy and genicular nerve blocks, all aimed at relieving pain, improving function and delaying the need for surgery. PT is an established and evidence-based treatment option for reducing pain and improving function in KOA.
Through the use of PT modalities such as thermal therapies, therapeutic ultrasound, electrical stimulation and laser therapy, which are known to modulate inflammation, are known to have an impact on pain, function and quality of life. On the other hand, genicular nerve block (GNB) is a recently developed treatment option for KOA that targets the three sensory nerves of the knee (superior lateral, superior medial and inferior medial genicular nerve) to block pain transmission to the central nervous system. Only a few studies have been conducted using GNB in patients with chronic KOA, demonstrating a reduction in pain and improvement in knee function. Eventually, GNB gained popularity in rheumatology to modulate inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Studies investigating different methods of application of GNB in chronic KOA, namely ultrasound-guided and fluoroscopy-guided GNB, reported no difference in treatment efficacy between the two methods. However, Kim et al. reported that ultrasound is more suitable for imaging because it does not require radiation exposure.
The aim of this study was to compare the effects of genicular nerve block and physical therapy on knee pain, mobility, functional ability and balance parameters in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and to investigate whether they are superior to the control group.
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