Case study of continuous knee joint traction treatment on the pain and quality of life of patients with degenerative gonarthritis.
Dong-Kyu Lee, Nam-Yong Lee
PMID 29950778WHAT IT FOUND
Both patients with degenerative knee arthritis reported lower pain and higher quality-of-life scores after continuous knee traction.
As a case report, this shows what happened in these cases, not that the treatment works.
Key findings
01Pain scores decreased after treatment: from 8 to 1 in the man and from 7 to 2 in the woman.
02Quality-of-life scores increased after treatment: from 81 to 93 in the man and from 78 to 96 in the woman.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only two patients were included, and the authors state the results are difficult to generalize. The authors state they could not conduct follow-up after treatment ended, so the paper does not show how long effects lasted. It is a case report, not a controlled comparison, so the reported changes cannot establish that traction caused them.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that continuous knee traction treats degenerative gonarthritis. This paper reports two cases, and the authors state the results cannot be generalized or followed up after treatment.