Total Rupture of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in the Knee
Conditions
Keywords
ACL, Ligament, Knee
Brief summary
The primary hypothesis is that Khalifa's therapy brings additional benefit compared to standard therapy (physiotherapy) for patients with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Detailed description
Mohamed Khalifa, a therapist from Hallein (Austria), has been working since 30 years with a self-developed manual technique for treating injuries of the musculoskeletal system especially of the knee by applying high pressure to the skin in the area of the injury. This pressure is applied in various amplitudes and frequencies. International top athletes from various disciplines reported a rapid pain relief, and even full recovery, immediately after his one hour treatment. Prior to the investigators' study, the investigators evaluated one pilot patient with a complete ACL rupture after a soccer game with Magnet-Resonance-Imaging (MRI) and clinical tests. This patient was physically immobile and reported pain especially when stretching and bending the knee. After one hour of treatment from Khalifa the signs of the injury like the stretching / bending inhibition and pain were gone immediately. Three months after the treatment, an evaluation of the knee with MRI showed an end-to-end continuous ACL with homogeneous signal and the clinical tests confirmed the stability of the knee. With this study the investigators will evaluate the possibility of influencing the healing of a completely ruptured ACL of the knee by one single special local pressure treatment to the skin for 60 min.
Interventions
OTHERKhalifa's therapy
One hour of Khalifa's therapy which is specially applied pressure to the skin
OTHERPhysiotherapy
Twelve times standardized Physiotherapy
Sponsors
Medical University of Graz
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* totally ruptured ACL - MRI verified, 4 weeks old as a maximum * knee function: Any functional inhibition (stretching, bending or load) * BMI: 18-28 * athletically active
Exclusion criteria
* any surgical procedures at the injured knee at any previous time * any acute surgical indication * diabetes mellitus and/or high blood pressure * any permanent drug treatment
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ACL Morphology | 3 months after 1st therapy | Magnet resonance images: end-to-end homogeneous anterior cruciate ligament |
| Knee function | 24 hours and 3 months after 1st therapy | IKDC-Score (International Knee Documentation Comite) clinical / physical examination KT-1000 evaluation |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Life Quality | 24 hours, 3 months | A Visual Analogue Scale was used to evaluate: Pain and Well-being |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Confidence | 24 hours, 3 months | Confidence in therapists / doctors were evaluated by questionnaire |
Countries
Austria
Outcome results
None listed