Effectiveness of two modalities of physiotherapy in the treatment of haemophilic arthropathy of the ankle: a randomized pilot study

Abstract

Although different techniques of physiotherapy have been described for the treatment of haemophilic arthropathy (HA) of ankle, hardly any studies have been applied manual therapy or educational physiotherapy and home exercises. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of manual therapy and educational physiotherapy in the treatment of HA of the ankle. Thirty-one patients with HA of the ankle with a mean age of 35.29 (SD: 12.877) years randomized to manual therapy group (n = 11), educational group (n = 10) and a control group (n = 10). The two physiotherapy programmes were one with manual therapy articular traction, passive stretching of the gastrocnemius muscles, and exercises for muscle strength and proprioception (MT group) and the other with educational sessions and home exercises (E group). The study lasted for 12 weeks. The treatment with manual therapy improved the gastrocnemius muscle circumference, and the pain of ankle (P < 0.05). Six months later, MT group still enjoyed improvement. In the educational group there were improvements, but not significant, in the measured variables. No patient had ankle haemarthrosis during the study. The treatment with manual therapy improved the circumference of gastrocnemius and lessened pain in the patients with haemophilic arthropathy of the ankle.

Keywords: ankle; haemophilia; joint disease; physiotherapy modalities.