Effect of a combination of alendronate sodium and radial shock wave on hemorheology and degree of pain in patients with femoral head necrosis

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the effect of alendronate sodium combined with radial shock wave on hemorheology and degree of pain in patients with femoral head necrosis. Methods: The study comprised 188 patients with femoral head necrosis treated in Taizhou People’s Hospital, China from June 2020 to June 2022. They were divided into control group (CG, n = 96) and study group (SG, n = 92). Control group was given radial shock wave therapy once in 30 days, while the study group was given alendronate sodium orally (10 mg/daily) for 3 months, as well as radial shock wave therapy. Hemorheology indices (plasma viscosity (PV), low-cut reduced viscosity (LRV), high-cut reduced viscosity (HRV)); degree of pain (McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ)), joint muscle strength, and clinical efficacy in both groups were compared. Results: The SG had significantly lower levels of PV, LRV and HRV, and lesser MPQ scores at 1 month (T1) and 2 months post-treatment (T2) than CG (p < 0.05). The post-treatment levels of PV, LRV, HRV, and MPQ scores at T1 stage in the two groups were significantly lower than the pre-treatment (T0) scores (p < 0.001). The scores of PV, LRV, HRV, and MPQ at T2 in both groups were significantly lower than the corresponding T1 scores (p < 0.05). Higher numbers of cases with grade 4 and grade 5 joint muscle strength were seen in SG than in CG at T2. Treatment efficacy/effectiveness in SG was significantly higher than in CG (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Alendronate sodium combination with radial shock wave, produces significant improvement in femoral head necrosis, mitigates symptoms and enhances joint muscle strength of patients. Future studies with larger sample sizes will be necessary to validate the outcome of this study.