Electrotherapy, including iontophoresis and magnetic field, is one of the most commonly used physical procedures in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RS).
To evaluate the effect of iontophoresis and magnetic field procedures on the intensity and frequency of pain sensation, administration of analgesics, limitation of knee joint mobility and comparative evaluation of analgesic effect s of the applied procedures.
The study included a group of 60 female patients affected by RS with knee joint pain. Patients were randomly assigned to 3 equally-numbered groups. Group I was subjected to 20 iontophoresis procedures. Group II underwent 20 procedures with magnetic field. Group III was treated with 20 procedures combining both iontophoresis and magnetic field. Each iontophoresis procedure lasted 20 minutes, whereas the magnetic field procedure took 30 minutes. All study participants were evaluated in relation to pain sensation after and before the treatment with VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) and Latinen scale.
After a 4-week therapy in all the three groups there was a statistically significant decrease in pain perception with VAS scale and with all domains of Laitinen scale excluding the limitation of physical activity criterion. The comparative evaluation of statistically important differences after the therapy between the groups revealed marked decrease of pain perception in groups I and II comparing to group II. There were no significant differences between groups I and III.
Iontophoresis and magnetic field treatments demonstrate effective analgesic property in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The conducted studies showed the highest analgesic effects for both treatments used.