Investigating the Effect of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Reducing Chronic Pain in Patients with Pes Anserine Bursitis: A Randomized, Clinical- Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Knee pain, is one of the most common causes of patients’ referring to physiatric clinics, and several factors, are involved in its creation. One of these factors is pes anserine bursitis (PAB) for which various treatment methods are used. This study aims to investigate the effect of this method on reducing chronic pain in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This clinical trial was conducted in 2013- 2014 on patients with PAB referring to academic, physical medicine clinics. The patients with chronic PAB (pain duration more than 3 months), who were refractory to conservative treatments, were randomly divided into two 20-member experimental groups (extracorporeal shock wave therapy [ESWT] and sham ESWT). Pain scores of all patients were measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) (total and present pain indexes [TPIs and PPIs]) before intervention, immediately after intervention (3(rd) week), and after 8 weeks. The pain scores were then compared and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: In the ESWT group, the mean patient pain score of the VAS and TPI in MPQ were significantly lower than in the sham ESWT group immediately after intervention (3(rd) week): P =0.02, P = 0.04 respectively; and 8 weeks after the end of treatment: P =0.01, P = 0.000. Moreover, the PPI in both groups had significantly decreased over time, although in ESWT group this decrement was significantly more than sham ESWT group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results showed that ESWT could be effective in reducing the pain and treating PAB.