Table I.
Summary characteristics of trials included in the systematic review
| Intervention | No. of trials eligible for the review (number of patients∗) | Type of population recruited (number of studies) | Range of mean ages (years) | Range of % female | Comparators (number of treatment arms†) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acupuncture | 25 (2794) | General (23), both knees affected (1), awaiting surgery (1) | 58–85 | 50–96 | Sham acupuncture (15), standard care (13), TENS (3), muscle strengthening exercise (1), ice/cooling (1) |
| Balneotherapy | 14 (1008) | General (12), both knees affected (2) | ‡54–70 | 47–100 | Placebo (8), standard care (6), heat treatment (1) |
| Braces | 1 (24) | General (1) | 59.5 | 63 | Insoles (1) |
| Aerobic exercise | 13 (1136) | General (9), both knees affected (2), overweight or obese (2) | ‡54–75 | 50–100 | Standard care (13), muscle strengthening exercise (2), weight loss (1) |
| Muscle-strengthening exercise | 34 (3013) | General (26), both knees affected (5), awaiting surgery (2), | ‡53–77 | 31–100 | Standard care (22), placebo (4), no treatment (2), aerobic exercise (2), heat treatment (1), TENS (1), acupuncture (1), PES (1), manual therapy (1), NMES (2) |
| Heat treatment | 7 (412) | General (7) | 61–74 | 63–100 | Placebo (4), standard care (1), TENS (1), muscle strengthening exercise (1), balneotherapy (1), ice/cooling (1) |
| Ice/cooling treatment | 4 (211) | General (4) | 56–61 | 48–91 | TENS (2), acupuncture (1), standard care (1), heat treatment (1), placebo (1), no treatment (1) |
| Insoles | 6 (893) | General (6), | 58–68 | 54–100 | Placebo (5), braces (1) |
| Interferential therapy | 5 (240) | General (5) | 59–67 | 67–80 | Placebo (3), TENS (1), no treatment (1) |
| Laser/light therapy | 9 (379) | General (6), both knees affected (3) | 58–74 | 68–90 | Placebo (8), standard care (1) |
| Manual therapy | 6 (486) | General (6) | 56–68 | 63–78 | Standard care (4), placebo (2), muscle strengthening exercise (1) |
| NMES | 3 (78) | General (3) | 60–71 | 42–79 | Standard care (2), muscle strengthening exercise (2) |
| PES | 8 (392) | General (8) | 55–70 | 46–100 | Placebo (7), standard care (1), muscle strengthening exercise (1), no treatment (1) |
| PEMF | 6 (521) | General (6) | 60–69 | 28–80 | Placebo (6) |
| Static magnets | 3 (131) | General (3) | 63–65 | 60–79 | Placebo (3) |
| Tai Chi | 4 (307) | General (4) | 65–70 | 75–93 | Standard care (4) |
| TENS | 18 (805) | General (17), awaiting surgery (1) | 56–85 | 48–97 | Placebo (12), standard care (3), acupuncture (3), Ice/cooling (2), heat treatment (1), interferential (1), no treatment, muscle strengthening exercise (1) |
| Weight loss (dieting) | 5 (870) | Overweight or obese (5) | 61–70 | 26–89 | Standard care (5), aerobic exercise (1) |
∗
Number of patients analysed by the primary studies for end of treatment pain - this was not always clearly stated.
†
Different doses of the same treatment in a trial were pooled, counting as one arm.
‡
Trial reported mean age by treatment group, and contained a group with a mean age ≥55. Some studies compared two or more different interventions. ‘General’ is used as a broad term for studies which did not recruit very specific population types.