Comparison of the Effects of Exercise Therapy and Orthokine Therapy on Pain Intensity, Joint Stiffness, and Quadriceps Muscle Strength in Middle-Aged Women with Knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Objective Orthokine therapy and exercise therapy are two important approaches for the management of knee osteoarthritis. While the effectiveness of exercise therapy in managing osteoarthritis has been well established, orthokine therapy has recently attracted increasing attention. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the effects of exercise therapy and orthokine therapy on improving symptoms in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods Twenty women with knee osteoarthritis were allocated to exercise therapy and orthokine therapy groups. The exercise therapy group performed exercise training for 4 weeks (three sessions per week), whereas the orthokine therapy group received orthokine injections for 4 weeks (twice per week). Joint stiffness, pain intensity, and quadriceps muscle strength were assessed before and after the interventions using the WOMAC questionnaire, the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and a dynamometer, respectively. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance with SPSS version 23 at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Results Both exercise therapy and orthokine therapy significantly reduced pain intensity and improved quadriceps muscle strength compared with baseline. However, neither intervention produced a significant change in joint stiffness. Furthermore, no significant between-group differences were observed for pain intensity, joint stiffness, or quadriceps muscle strength after the intervention. Conclusion Given the comparable effects of the two therapeutic approaches on symptom improvement, the present study supports the use of exercise therapy as an effective option for managing knee osteoarthritis. Further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are needed to confirm and generalize these results