Trial reportInternational orthopaedics2023
Early application of extracorporeal shock wave therapy improves pain control and functional scores in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in International orthopaedics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Use of extracorporeal shockwave therapy combined with standard rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a systematic review with meta-analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Pooled it
- Ultrasound-guided percutaneous lavage for the treatment of rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy: a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Recent Advances in Shockwave Therapy for Musculoskeletal and Soft-Tissue Disorders.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe use of biophysical stimuli produced by extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) can improve the rehabilitation treatment of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The aim of our study is to evaluate the short-term efficacy of early postoperative ESWT in combination with physiotherapy in terms of pain reduction and motor function recovery of patients undergoing TKA and compare it with conventional physiotherapy treatment.
methodsFifty-six patients undergoing TKA were enrolled in the study from January 2019 to February 2020. Patients received two sessions of physiotherapy daily, with (experimental group) or without (control group) four sessions of ESWT within seven days after surgery. Patients were prospectively evaluated at baseline and at post-operative day two and seven. Assessment included active knee range of motion (aROM), timed up and go (TUG) test, visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, and Borg scale.
resultsFifty patients completed the study. Both treatments proved to be effective in reducing pain and improving the knee range of motion and functional scores at seven days after surgery: the aROM in the ESWT group was 36.8 ± 11.0 grades (p < 0.001), while in control group was 19.8 ± 7.8 grades (p < 0.001). TUG, VAS, and BORG scores showed a similar trend. Comparative analysis revealed superior clinical results for the experimental group in all the outcomes, in particular aROM (96.0 ± 5.40 vs. 81.20 ± 11.01, p < 0.001) and TUG test (17.4 ± 5.61 vs. 21.24 ± 5.88, p < 0.001), at day seven after surgery.
conclusionEarly application of ESWT in addition to physiotherapy can positively influence the rehabilitation process after TKA. The treatment proved to be well tolerated and safe. Preliminary results demonstrated better pain control and functional scores compared to physiotherapy alone.
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