Chronic Pain, Osteoarthritis, Knee
Conditions
Keywords
Electro Acupuncture, Knee Osteoarthritis, Chronic pain, Cortical Excitability
Brief summary
The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and electro acupuncture (EAC) compared to sham treatment in reducing pain, improving functional capacity and functioning of the neuro-immune-endocrine system in patients with chronic pain due to knee osteoarthritis.
Detailed description
The knee osteoarthritis has high prevalence, which tends to increase with the aging population. The limited efficacy of pharmacological interventions stimulates the search for other options, in order to increase the therapeutic success. Acupuncture is widely used for pain control in several pathologies. A modality of intramuscular stimulation to quantify the intensity of the stimulus is electro acupuncture (EAC) that the intensity of 2 Hz accelerates the release of enkephalins, endorphins and beta-endorphins. The application of electric currents to modify brain function is a very old technique. The transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is based on applying transcranial direct weak current (usually above 2mA) through electrodes in a non-invasive, simple and painless. Other advantages include low cost and the possibility of a placebo reliable. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability to reduce pain and improve functionality in chronic pain for knee osteoarthritis with two techniques, one that promotes a bottom-up approach (EAC) and other top-down (tDCS). We will seek to analyze the efficacy of them separately and together, seeking summation of results.
Interventions
OTHERtDCS and EAC sham
The tDCS apparatus is operated on battery power, will be used rubber electrodes soaked in saline solution. The anode is placed in M1 and the cathode in the supraorbital region.
OTHERtDCS sham and EAC sham
For the EAC sham we will use rubber electrodes. They will be applied in the same areas of active EAC. They are connected to the same electroacupuncture device, but without current passing for the patient. All subjects receive one 30min session.
OTHERtDCS sham and EAC
For the sham tDCS we will use the same apparatus in the same location, but the current is stopped after 30 seconds.
OTHERtDCS and EAC
For the acupuncture we will use needles with guide tubes that are 40 mm in length and 0.25 mm in diameter. The needling will be applied using an electro acupuncture device in the dermatomes, myotome, or sclerotome corresponding to the nerve roots involved in the knee (L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, S1, and S2). All patients received one 30min session using a frequency of 2 Hz.
Sponsors
Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa
Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
- Provision of informed consent to participate. * Women with over 18 years old,with chronic pain because of primary osteoarthritis of the knee. * Pain stable for at least three months. Score greater than or equal to 3 cm (0 cm = no pain and worst possible pain = 10cm) on Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain perception at baseline. * No contraindications to electroacupuncture, transcranial direct current stimulation or transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Exclusion criteria
-Clinically significant or unstable disorder, medical or psychiatric. * Presence of neurological or rheumatic comorbidity. * Pregnancy. * Already having been treated with acupuncture. * Having performed with corticosteroid infiltration in the last six weeks or are using this. * Having performed with hyaluronic acid infiltration in the last year. * Previous surgery on the limb to be treated or have surgical program for the next 6 months.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the intensity of daily pain. | The treatment will be 5 daily sessions.The pain level will be assessed before treatment, after each session and at the end of treatment.Totaling six days. | Measurement of outcomes by clinical parameters: Pain - The pain daily, in the course of treatment will be measured by the Visual Analog Scale, (VAS) 10 cm where zero corresponds to no pain and 10 cm maximum pain. |
| Change in the pressure pain threshold. | The pressure pain threshold will will be evaluated before and after 5 daily sessions of treatment.Totaling six days. | Measurement of outcomes by parameters of pain threshold: Threshold Tolerance Test Algometry Pressure: the tolerance threshold pressure is measured by pressure algometer digital, with an area of 1 cm2 in area with muscle trigger point that triggers more pain. The maximum pressure to be applied will be 1400 kPa (Kilopascal) to avoid tissue damage. The patient will be instructed to indicate when the stimulus becomes unbearable and the value of tolerance threshold will be constituted by the average of three measurements. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Level of depressive symptoms . | Depressive symptoms will be assessed before and after treatment. Totaly five days. | Depressive symptoms are measured by the Beck Depression Scale, which covers neurovegetative symptoms of depression . |
| Change in the level of functionality. | The functionality level will be evaluated before and after 5 daily sessions of treatment.Totaling six days. | WOMAC(Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Questionnaire) - assessment of pain, stiffness and functional ability. |
| Daily sleep quality. | Sleep quality will be evaluated daily, totaling five days of evaluation. | Sleep quality will be assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the 10cm scale of sleep quality. |
| State of physical and mental health. | The state of physical and mental health will be assessed before and after treatment. Totaly five days. | The quality of life and health status will be assessed through the WHOQOL ( World Health Organization Quality of Life), reduced form, adapted to Portuguese in Brazil. The level of catastrophic thinking will be assessed by the scale of catastrophic thoughts. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cortical excitability:Motor threshold (MT), Motor evoked potential (MEP),silent period (SP), intracortical facilitation (ICF)and intracortical inhibition (ICI). | The cortical excitability is evaluated before and after treatment with a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) equipment. | MagPro X100 and a figure-of-8 coil centered over the motor cortex (M1).MEP - will be made 10 stimuli with an intensity of 120% of motor threshold (MT). SP- is determined from the maximum force of adduction of right thumb measured with a dynamometer. The patient has 20% of maximum strength of adduction of the thumb and it is the stimulus 120% MT of the contralateral hemisphere. The SP is the time needed to recover 50% of the initial voltage obtained in electromyographic register. ICF - is investigated by paired pulse. TMS will be used with expansion module for paired pulse. Conditioning stimulus intensity is 80% of the MT and the intensity of the stimulus test is 120% of the MT. The inter-stimulus will be 12 microsec. ICI - Investigated by paired pulse. TMS will be used with expansion module for paired pulse. Conditioning stimulus intensity is 80% of the MT and the intensity of the stimulus test is 120% of the MT. The inter-stimulus interval is 2 microsec. |
Countries
Brazil
Outcome results
None listed