Abstract

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of interferential current therapy (IFC) in patients with knee osteoarthritis. We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, ClinicalKey, and Scopus for relevant studies from their date of launch to March 22, 2022. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which IFC was applied to knee osteoarthritis patients and the outcomes of pain scores or functional scales were assessed. Ten RCTs with 493 patients met the inclusion criteria. Nine RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. The IFC groups exhibited significant improvements relative to the control groups for short-term pain scores (SMD = − 0.64, 95% CI − 1.04 to − 0.25, P = 0.001), long-term pain scores (SMD = − 0.36, 95% CI − 0.60 to − 0.11, P = 0.005), and short-term Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scores (SMD = − 0.39, 95% CI − 0.77 to − 0.02, P = 0.04). All included studies did not observe any obvious adverse effects of IFC. IFC can be recommended as a treatment for knee osteoarthritis because it improves short- and long-term pain and short-term function. However, large-scale and high-quality RCTs with longer follow-up are required to establish an appropriate standardized treatment.

Details

Title
Effectiveness of interferential current therapy in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Author
Chen, Hung-Lun 1 ; Yang, Fu-An 2 ; Lee, Ting-Hsuan 3 ; Liou, Tsan-Hon 4 ; Escorpizo, Reuben 5 ; Chen, Hung-Chou 6 

 Taipei Medical University, Department of Primary Care Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan (GRID:grid.412896.0) (ISNI:0000 0000 9337 0481) 
 Taipei Medical University, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan (GRID:grid.412896.0) (ISNI:0000 0000 9337 0481) 
 Taipei Medical University, Department of Family Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan (GRID:grid.412896.0) (ISNI:0000 0000 9337 0481) 
 Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, New Taipei City, Taiwan (GRID:grid.412955.e) (ISNI:0000 0004 0419 7197); Taipei Medical University, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan (GRID:grid.412896.0) (ISNI:0000 0000 9337 0481) 
 University of Vermont, Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Burlington, USA (GRID:grid.59062.38) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7689); Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil, Switzerland (GRID:grid.419770.c) 
 Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, New Taipei City, Taiwan (GRID:grid.412955.e) (ISNI:0000 0004 0419 7197); Taipei Medical University, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan (GRID:grid.412896.0) (ISNI:0000 0000 9337 0481); Taipei Medical University, Center for Evidence-Based Health Care, Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan (GRID:grid.412896.0) (ISNI:0000 0000 9337 0481) 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2675274772
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.