Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 May;5(5):320-4.
doi: 10.4103/1947-2714.112477.

Manual khalifa therapy in patients with completely ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in the knee: first results from near-infrared spectroscopy

Gerhard Litscher  1 , Michael Ofner, Daniela Litscher
Affiliations

Manual khalifa therapy in patients with completely ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in the knee: first results from near-infrared spectroscopy

Gerhard Litscher et al. N Am J Med Sci. 2013 May.

Abstract

Background: Manual Khalifa therapy has been practiced in Hallein, Austria, for more than 30 years; however, there are no scientific results available on the topic.

Aims: The goal of the present study was to investigate possible acute effects of Khalifa therapy on regional oxygen saturation of knee tissues in patients with completely ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

Materials and methods: We investigated 10 male patients (mean age ± standard deviation (SD) 35.9 ± 6.1 year) using a four-channel oximeter. The sensors were applied anterolaterally and anteromedially, beside the patella, on both the injured and the healthy (control) knee.

Results: The results of the controlled study showed that values of oxygen saturation on the knee with the ruptured ligament were significantly increased (P < 0.001) immediately after Khalifa therapy, whereas the values on the control knee showed insignificant increases. Baselines values of the anterolateral side of the injured knee were significantly (P < 0.001) different from those of the anterolateral side of the control knee. The same effect was present on the anteromedial side; however, with a lower degree of significance (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Khalifa therapy was clinically successful in all 10 patients. Further, investigations and analyzes are necessary to explain the underlying mechanism.

Keywords: Anterior cruciate ligament; Khalifa therapy; Metabolism; Near-infrared spectroscopy; Regional oxygen saturation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Manual Khalifa therapy. Mohamed Khalifa practicing his manual therapy in Hallein, Austria with permission of M. Khalifa, Jan 8th, 2013
Figure 2
Figure 2
Near-infrared spectroscopy monitor. Equipment for measuring regional oxygen saturation used in this study
Figure 3
Figure 3
Measurement sites. Measurement sites with applied sensors before/after manual Khalifa therapy with permission of the depicted person (co-author of this study)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Changes in regional oxygen saturation on the injured knee. Box plot (ends of boxes: 25th and 75th percentile; line at the median; error bars: 10th and 90th percentile) presentation of rSO2 values before and after manual therapy. b1, b2, b3: Readings before manual therapy; a1, a2, a3: Readings after manual therapy
Figure 5
Figure 5
Changes in regional oxygen saturation on the healthy control knee. Box plot presentation of changes of rSO2 values in 10 patients before and after manual therapy on the control knee. For further explanations, Figure 4
Figure 6
Figure 6
Demonstration of restored knee function. Immediately after manual Khalifa therapy, the patient was able to jump and bend the injured knee completely, which had been impossible before treatment. With permission of the patient
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jöbsis FF. Noninvasive, infrared monitoring of cerebral and myocardial oxygen sufficiency and circulatory parameters. Science. 1977;198:1264–7. - PubMed
    1. Litscher G, Schwarz G. In: Transcranial Cerebral Oximetry. Litscher G, Schwarz G, editors. Lengerich: Pabst Science Publishers; 1997.
    1. Litscher G. Bioengineering assessment of acupuncture, part 5: Cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy. Crit Rev Biomed Eng. 2006;34:439–57. - PubMed
    1. Litscher G, Ofner M, He W, Wang L, Gaischek I. Acupressure at the meridian acupoint Xiyangguan (GB33) influences near-infrared spectroscopic parameters (Regional Oxygen Saturation) in deeper tissue of the knee in healthy volunteers. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:370341. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Niederführ G. Torn Ligaments? A Slipped Disc? Operations no longer necessary! Norderstedt: Books on demand; 2001.