Foam roller-based self-induced myofascial therapy in patients with hemophilic knee arthropathy: a multicenter, single-blind, randomized clinical study.
Elena Donoso-Úbeda, Raúl Pérez-Llanes, Javier Meroño-Gallut and 2 others
PMID 37869759WHAT IT FOUND
Daily foam rolling for 8 weeks reduced knee bleeding frequency and pain in men with hemophilic arthropathy.
Range of motion improved between groups but not within them. Strength did not change. The effect on bleeding was the most consistent finding.
Key findings
01The intervention significantly reduced the frequency of knee hemarthrosis compared to usual care at both post-treatment and follow-up.
02Pain intensity showed a statistically significant reduction within the experimental group at both post-treatment and follow-up, with a between-group effect.
03While there was a significant between-group difference for range of motion, pairwise comparisons showed no significant change within the group over time.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study could not use ultrasound to rule out microbleeds during the intervention period. Analgesic drug intake was not recorded, so its potential influence on pain results is unknown. Anthropometric measurements were not taken, preventing assessment of changes in muscle volume. The control group received no intervention, which may have influenced the perceived benefits of the active treatment.
Declared interests
The research was funded by a grant from Baxalta GmbH (now part of Takeda), a company that produces clotting factor concentrates. The authors declared no other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that foam rolling improved knee range of motion within the treated patients. Although the experimental group had better range of motion than the control group, the statistical analysis showed no significant change from baseline to follow-up within the experimental group itself.