[Effectiveness of various methods of cryotherapy in patients with osteoarthritis]. / Effektivnost' raznykh metodik krioterapii u patsientov s osteoartrozom.

Aim of this study - the comparative effectiveness of cryotherapy (CT) with ice 0 °C, CT with ice 0 °C + SMC (cryo-SMC), air cryotherapy (ACT) -30 °C, hyperbaric gas cryotherapy (HC) CO2 -78 °C. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We examined 150 patients with II - IV stage osteoarthritis of the knee and hip joints, movement pain of more than 40 mm on a VAS and Leken index more than 9. 120 of these patients received a course of CT of various temperatures and cryo-SMC for 2 weeks: 1st group (n=30) - CT of ice 0 °C; 2nd group (n=30) - cryo-SMC; 3rd group (n=30) - ACT; 4th group (n=30) - HC. The 5th group (control) included patients (n=30) who received only non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). We assessed dynamics of rest and movement pain according to VAS, the WOMAC index, the effectiveness according to the OMERACT-OARSI criterion and the need for NSAIDs. Effectiveness of treatment was evaluated by the patient and the doctor. RESULTS: OMERACT-OARSI analysis demonstrated a high percentage of CT response. A statistically significant decrease in rest and movement pain intensity was registered in all patients of the groups: ice 0 °C, cryo-SMC, ACT, HC and control groups. The pain decreased by 82-83% in the groups 1-4, and by 70% in the control group. There were no differences in the effectiveness of treatment between groups 1, 3, and 4 and the cryo-SMC group; effectiveness of treatment was statistically significant (p<0.01) between groups 1-4 and the control group. A statistically significant decrease in the total WOMAC index, as well as in «pain¼ and «stiffness¼ VAS subscales (p<0.01) in the absence of intergroup differences in the 1st, 3rd, 4th groups and the cryo-SMC (p>0.05) group and a statistically significant difference between the 1st-4th groups and the control group (p<0.01). According to the «function¼ subscale of the WOMAC index, a statistically significant difference between all groups was not found (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Results of this study according to the OMERACT-OARSI effectiveness evaluation criteria indicate the comparability of CT as a treatment method with NSAID therapy in terms of the effect on improving the patient's functional capabilities and greater CT efficiency in relieving pain and stiffness in the joints.

[Optimization of the treatment of patients with osteoarthrosis using hyperbaric gaseous cryotherapy].

The authors report the results of combined rehabilitative treatment of patients presenting with gonarthrosis and coxarthrosis by means of hyperbaric cryotherapy using carbon dioxide at -78 degrees C. Estimation of the data obtained based on the internationally accepted Lequesne, WOMA, and Likert indices made it possible to objectively evaluate the clinical efficiency of this technology. Moreover, the approach employed permitted to elucidate various aspects of the mechanism of action of the physical factor, identify predictors of the possible outcome of hyperbaric gaseous cryotherapy, and improve by 33% the efficacy of rehabilitative treatment of patients with arthrosis affecting the large joints.

[Cryoelectrotherapy in the treatment of osteoarthrosis patients]. / Krioélektroterapiia v lechenii bol'nykh osteoartrozom.

Coxarthritis and gonarthritis patients (n = 105) were divided into 3 groups. Group I patients received cryotherapy (CT), group II subjects were exposed to sinusoidal modulated currents (SMC), group III patients underwent multimodality treatment (cryoelectrotherapy). The most pronounced response for CT was achieved in gonarthritis with reactive synovitis. Overall effectiveness was the highest in cryoelectrotherapy. This may be due to potentiating effect of the cold and low-frequency currents combination.