Effects of the Whole-Body Vibration and Auriculotherapy on the Functionality of Knee Osteoarthritis Individuals

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a degenerative disease of the knee joint. This study aims to evaluate the effects of whole-body vibration (WBV), auriculotherapy (AT), and the association of these techniques with the functionality of KOA individuals. Individuals (n = 120) were allocated an AT group (GAT), a WBV group (GWBV), an association group (GWBV + AT), and their respective controls (CGAT, CGWBMV, CGWBMV + AT). The WBV intervention was performed with 5–14 Hz in 3 min of working time with 1 min rest. The control group performed the protocol with the vibrating platform (VP) turned off. The AT intervention was performed with adhesive tapes, with seeds placed in the both ears on the Shenmen point, knee joint, and kidney. The control groups had seedless tape placed on both ears. The participants were instructed to press the adhesive tapes with the fingers three times per day (for 6 days) and to remove the adhesive tapes on the seventh day, before returning to the laboratory. The International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), the short physical performance battery (SPPB), and the anterior trunk flexibility (ATF) tests were applied. Acute and cumulative effects were determined. In first session (acute effect of the first session), significant improvements were observed in the groups GWBV (p = 0.03) and GWBV + AT (p = 0.04), and in the cumulative effect a significant improvement was observed in the groups GWBV (p = 0.02) and GWBV + AT (p = 0.01). Concerning the overall score of the SPPB, significant improvements were observed in the individuals of the GWBV (p = 0.01) and GWBV + AT (p = 0.03) groups (cumulative effect). No changes were found in the score for the IKDC. The WBV alone or associated with AT, besides being a safe and feasible strategy, likely produces physiological responses that improve the functionality of KOA individuals, considering the findings of the ATF and the score of the SPPB.