The Effect of Cryotherapy Vs TENS on Pain in Haemophilic Children

Hemophilia is a congenital disorder of blood coagulation that arises as a result of a deficiency of clotting factor proteins (factor viii or ix), which are essential to the normal coagulation process.Hemophilia is the oldest known bleeding disorder.Knee joint is the most commonly affected joint in the Haemophilic children. Intra-articular hemorrhages are common in knee joint followed by pain, swelling and restricted range of motion. Physiotherapy has been widely used in treating the symptoms of Haemophilia by various treatment techniques.TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator) and Cryotherapy (systematic use of Ice for Therapeutic purpose) has been generally used for treating the signs and symptoms of Haemophilia. TENS and Cryotherapy have been used for relieving pain, improving knee range of motion and reducing the swelling around the knee joint . Young children suffering from Hemophilia A have been found to benefit from both TENS and Cryotherapy treatment.They helped in reducing the swelling around the knee joint and thereby decreasing pain to a great extent which inturn helped in improving knee range of motion and their activities of daily living.