Symptoms-modifying effects of electromotive administration of glucosamine sulphate among patients with knee osteoarthritis.
Ayodele Teslim Onigbinde, Adegbenga Rotimi Owolabi, Kamil Lasisi and 2 others
PMID 30930580WHAT IT FOUND
In knee OA, glucosamine cream applied by massage, iontophoresis, or both produced different 12-week joint-space changes, but groups differed at baseline.
Pain ratings fell in all groups, so this does not show one approach is clearly better.
Key findings
01At 12 weeks, the cross-friction massage group had a significantly higher medial joint space than the iontophoresis-only group (p = 0.005) and the combined group (p = 0.004).
02At 12 weeks, the iontophoresis-only group had a significantly higher lateral joint space than the cross-friction massage group (p = 0.001) and the combined group (p = 0.01).
03Pain on active knee flexion decreased significantly within each group by 12 weeks (iontophoresis p = 0.001; massage p = 0.001; combined p = 0.001).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study analysed only 53 participants after seven early dropouts were excluded, so it is small and may miss real differences. Some joint-space measures and pain scores differed between groups at baseline. Later between-group differences are hard to interpret. All groups received glucosamine sulphate cream, and there was no placebo or no-treatment control, so the study cannot separate the effect of the cream from the delivery method. The paper does not report blinding, so expectation could affect pain and function ratings. Many outcomes were compared across three groups and three time points. This increases the chance of a significant result by chance. The 12-week follow-up cannot show long-term cartilage change or disease progression.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest, no external financial support, and that the investigators paid for the trial.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the joint-space differences as proof that glucosamine cream delivered by iontophoresis, massage, or both changes knee structure. All groups received glucosamine cream, there was no placebo control, and some groups differed at baseline.