Continuous passive motion for osteoarthritis of the hip: A pilot study

Objective. To evaluate whether extended use of continuous passive motion (CPM) may allay the pain of walking, diminish disease effect, and increase the usual walking speed in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. Methods. This pilot study comprised 21 patients with Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2-4 OA of the hip who used CPM for periods of 1.2 to 7.6 h daily throughout a 12 week trial. Results. Significant improvements were found in the patients' assessment of pain on visual analog scale, Sickness Impact Profile, self- selected walking speed, and the number of subjects who decreased their medication usage. None of these improvements was related to the radiographic grade of the patients' OA or the daily duration of CPM. Conclusion. Although regular exercise is now routinely recommended to patients with OA, there has been relatively little study of specific exercise programs. As such investigations are undertaken, we believe CPM should be included among the options that are studied.