Effectiveness of rehabilitation on pain and function in people affected by hemophilia

Introduction:Literature provides unclear evidence of the effectiveness of many physiotherapy interventions on pain intensity,quality of life, and functional ability in hemophilic patients, and suggests that rehabilitation programs should be focused on functionalgoals and the disability of patients.Aim:The aim of the present study is to present the outcome of a case series of patients with hemophilia in which a rehabilitationprogram has been carried out on the basis of a specific individual patient’s functional impairment.Methods:Fifty-one patients were enrolled: 32 patients (Rehab Group) received a rehabilitative treatment, 19 patients for differentreasons (living far from the hospital, family problems) did not receive rehabilitation (Control Group). The rehabilitation program wasplanned with respect to the emergent problems: musculoskeletal pain, joint range of motion limitation, muscleflexibility, walkingdifficulties, the appearance of hematomas/hemartro, and postural problems. All the patients were assessed at baseline (T0), after 1month (T1), and after 3months (T2) through visual analogic scale for musculoskeletal pain, the Hemophilia Joint Health Score for jointrange of motion, the Functional Independence Score in Hemophilia for disability, and postural assessment by visual inspection.Results:A significant reduction of pain and improvement of Hemophilia Joint Health Score and Functional Independence Score inHemophilia score was found in the Rehab Group along with the follow-up. Pain in the Control Group was lower with respect to theother group at baseline and significantly decreased after 1 month.Conclusion:A rehabilitation program focused on individual impairment of patients with hemophylia determined satisfying results interms of pain control, functional, and disability improvement in 3 months follow-up