Abstract

Background. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound and Ketonal (ketoprofen) electrophonophoresis as adjuncts to the treatment of degenerative knee joint disease. Materiał and methods. Forty-six persons randomly assigned to two groups were investigated. Group A consisted of 23 per-sons aged 53-72 years. Group B comprised 23 patients whose age ranged from 54 to 60 years. The knee joint rangę of motion and muscle strength were assessed in all patients immediately before treatment and on completion ofa course of physical thera-py Group A was treated with ultrasound (1 MHz; 0.5-1.0 W/cm2; 20%; 1-3 min/cm2), while Group B was subjected to electropho-nophoretic treatment (0.1 mA/cm2; 1 MHz; 0.5-1.0 W/cm2; 20%; 1-3 min/cm2; 2% Ketonal). A total of 10 procedures were admini-stered to each patient over two weeks. Results. The knee-joint rangę of motion and strength ofthe knee flexors and extensors improved significantly in both groups after treatment in comparison to baseline values. There was no statistically significant inerease in the muscle strength ofthe knee rotators. An inter-group comparison of treatment effects showed that the ranges of the passive and active flexion, passive and active extension and strength of the flexor and extensor muscles of the knee joint had inereased morę significantly in group B than in group A. Conclusions. The treatment applied in both comparative groups was effective. Electrophonophoresis led to slightly better treatment outeomes than ultrasound.

Key words:

degenerative disease, ultrasound, electrophonophoresis, knee joint