Showing papers on "WOMAC published in 1994"

Acupuncture for the treatment of pain of osteoarthritic knees.

Abstract: Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine whether acupuncture was more effective than sham acupuncture in the reduction of pain in persons with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Methods. Forty subjects (20 men, 20 women) with radiographic evidence of OA of the knee were stratified by gender and randomly assigned to either the experimental (real acupuncture) or control (sham acupuncture) groups. Subjects were treated three times per week for 3 weeks and evaluated at three test sessions. Outcome measures were: 1) the Pain Rating Index of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, 2) the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index, and 3) pain threshold at four sites at the knee. Results. The analyses of variance showed that both real and sham acupuncture significantly reduced pain, stiffness, and physical disability in the OA knee, but that there were no significant differences between groups. Conclusions. Acupuncture is not more effective than sham acupuncture in the treatment of OA pain.

A comparative study of signal versus aggregate methods of outcome measurement based on the WOMAC Osteoarthritis Index. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index.

Abstract: Objective To compare signal versus aggregate measurement strategies using the VA3.0S version of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis (OA) Index. Methods Seventy patients with OA of the knee were asked to identify a signal item for each of the 3 dimensions of the WOMAC OA Index at baseline and termination of a 12-week, double blind, randomized, controlled trial. Results The signal method detected statistically significant alterations in health status at relatively small sample sizes and with a relative efficiency close to or at unity. In addition to a low prevalence of deterioration in nonsignal items, we observed some inconsistency in signal selection. Conclusion Signal methods of measurement may provide an alternative approach to outcome measurement provided issues of nonsignal deterioration and the consistency of signal selection can be addressed.