Manual therapy effectively decreases the frequency of joint bleeding improves joint health and reduces pain in hemophilic elbow arthropathy: A prospective cohort study

Objective To verify the safety and effectiveness of manual therapy intervention using fascial therapy in adult patients with haemophilic elbow arthropathy. Methods Prospective cohort study. A total of 28 patients with haemophilic elbow arthropathy was recruited in 3 cities in Spain. Patients received one-fascial therapy session per week for 3 weeks. The dependent variables were: frequency of joint bleeding, joint pain (visual analogue score) and joint status (Hemophilia Joint Health Score). Outcomes were measured at baseline (T0), post-treatment (T1) and after 3 months’ follow-up (T2). Using Student’s t-test, the means obtained in the evaluations were compared. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) test of repeated measures provided the intra-subject effect. The chosen level of significance was p < 0.05. Results A total of 28 patients were recruited according to the selection criteria. No joint bleeding occurred during or after the intervention. The primary outcome, frequency of bleeding, improved after intervention (p