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CompletedNCT03931811Updated May 2, 2019

Effects of Short Wave Diathermy Added on Dextrose Prolotherapy Injections in Osteoarthritis of the Knee

An interventional study of Short wave diathermy and Prolotherapy in Knee Osteoarthritis, sponsored by Ege University. Completed at 1 site in Turkey. Open to participants aged 45 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-05-02.

Sponsored by Ege University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 2 years after the study started (first participant enrolled Apr 2017, registered Apr 2019).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
63
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
45 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Goal: To show the effects of short wave diathermy added on prolotherapy injections in osteoarthritis of the knee on pain, physical functioning and quality of life.

Material and Methods: 63 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee with Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) class 2 or 3 were included in the study. Patients were randomized to two grous, first being dextrose prolotherapy+ short wave diathermy(SWD), and second being dextrose prolotherapy with sham SWD. Patients were injected with dextrose prolotherapy solutions in the beginning, 3rd and 6th week of the study, for a total of 3 times, and took 20 minutes of SWD after injection(true or sham). Western Ontorio and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Visual Analogous Scale for pain(VAS) and Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)were applied before, after(6th week) and at the 3rd month of treatment.

02

Conditions studied

  • Knee Osteoarthritis

Keywords

  • Knee Osteoarthritis
  • Prolotherapy
  • Hypertonic dextrose solution injections
  • Short-wave diathermy
03

In context

Osteoarthritis

4,398 studies on the registry are indexed under Osteoarthritis; 582 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 63 is close to the median of 70 across 3,440 interventional studies indexed under Osteoarthritis.

Browse Osteoarthritis studies →

Lead sponsor

Ege University is the lead sponsor of 365 studies on the registry; 46 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
45 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Inclusion criteria were being between 45 and 75 years old, knee pain of 3 months or longer duration, and having OA of the knee compatible with Kellgren-Lawrance class 2 or 3

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients using analgesics other than acetaminophen, having pregnancy, diabetes mellitus, infectious or inflammatory arthritis, hemophilia, knee prosthesis, history of knee injections in last 3 months or anticoagulant use, allergy to ingredients of the solutions, having cardiac pacemaker or other device, or metallic implants were exluded from the study.
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
63 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Short wave diathermy group

    Patients were randomized into 2 groups depending on their patient number, with odd numbers being recruited to SWD group, and even numbers to sham SWD group. Prolotherapy solutions were injected using 25 gauge needle, with solutions being 6 ml 25 % dextrose (3 ml 20% dextrose + 3 ml 30% dextrose) for intraarticular, and 20 ml 15% dextrose (10 ml 0,9% NaCl + 10 ml 30% dextrose) for periarticular. SWD group took short wave diathermy with specifications of 400 watt power output, 27.12 MHz frequency, 11.06m wave length, using condensators and electrodes of 12 cm diameter parallel to the knee for 20 minutes(Enraf-Nonius, Curapuls 970 Short wave diathermy device). Both groups took injections in the beginning of the therapy, 3rd week and 6th week, a total of 3 times. SWD or sham SWD therapy was given right after the injections, also for a total of 3 times.

    Device: Short wave diathermy · Other: Prolotherapy

  • Sham comparator
    Sham diathermy group

    Patients were randomized into 2 groups depending on their patient number, with odd numbers being recruited to SWD group, and even numbers to sham SWD group. Prolotherapy solutions were injected using 25 gauge needle, with solutions being 6 ml 25 % dextrose (3 ml 20% dextrose + 3 ml 30% dextrose) for intraarticular, and 20 ml 15% dextrose (10 ml 0,9% NaCl + 10 ml 30% dextrose) for periarticular. Sham SWD group took 20 minutes of SWD therapy with device not working(Enraf-Nonius, Curapuls 970 Short wave diathermy device).

    Other: Prolotherapy

Interventions

  • DeviceShort wave diathermy

    SWD group took short wave diathermy with specifications of 400 watt power output, 27.12 MHz frequency, 11.06m wave length, using condensators and electrodes of 12 cm diameter parallel to the knee for 20 minutes(Enraf-Nonius, Curapuls 970 Short wave diathermy device).

  • OtherProlotherapy

    Prolotherapy solutions were injected to the knee by a blinded physician in the group, using 25 gauge needle, with solutions being 6 ml 25 % dextrose (3 ml 20% dextrose + 3 ml 30% dextrose) for intraarticular, and 20 ml 15% dextrose (10 ml 0,9% NaCl + 10 ml 30% dextrose) for periarticular. Injection points wwere defined as medial collateral ligaments, adhesion points of quadriceps tendon, adhesion points of patellar tendon, tuberositas tibia, pes anserinus, lateral collateral ligaments, coronal ligaments, medial and lateral tibia plateaus. Patients were blinded to their treatment groups

    Also known as: Hypertonic dextrose injections

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Visual Analogous Scale(for the intensity of pain)(VAS)

    VAS was used to assess the resting pain intensity of the subjects. Patients were asked to show their intensity of pain on a 10 cm long line, with 0 end being no pain, and 10 cm end being highest amount of pain possible. The distance between the mark and the 0 end was measured and the result was recorded as milimeters.

    Time frame: 3 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Western Ontorio and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC)

    WOMAC is an index for the assessment of osteoarthritis consisting of 24 questions, with subscales being pain(5 questions), stiffness(2 questions) and physical functioning(17 questions). Turkish version of the test is expressed as a likert type scale, ranging from 0 to 4, with greater numbers expressing higher severity. The greater scores are associated with more severe disease

    Time frame: 3 months

  2. Short Form-36 (SF-36)

    SF-36 is an index for the evaluation of quality of life in a broad range of patients. It consists of 8 domains: Physical function, bodily pain, role-physical, general health, vitality, social function, role-emotional, and mental health. Each domain is expressed separately, rather than a total score. All of the domains are given from 0 to 100 points, with greater values being associated with a better quality of life.

    Time frame: 3 months

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Study locations

1 site
  • Ege university school of medicine
    Izmir, 35100, Turkey
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References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 2, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03931811
Lead sponsor
Ege University
Responsible party
Hale Karapolat (Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, Ege University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Apr 30, 2019
Start date
Apr 4, 2017
Primary completion
Apr 4, 2018
Completion
Apr 4, 2018
Last update
May 2, 2019

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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