Ozone therapy as an integrating therapeutic in osteoartrosis treatment: a systematic review

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Osteoarthrosis affects 85% of the population over 75 years of age. It is divided into primary and secondary, however despite the knowledge at the molecular level the treatments are not yet fully effective. Ho- wever, ozone therapy emerges as an alternative therapy, which is low cost and seems effective in the treatment of chronic pain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the current evidence to support or to refute the use of ozone therapy in the treatment of patients with osteoarthritis. CONTENTS: Systematic review using the keywords “ozone the- rapy”, “ozone”, “osteoarthritis”, “arthritis”, “randomized”, “con- trolled” and “meta-analysis”. The selection of publications was based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. In total, 9 articles were used. Among the 9 articles found regarding ozone therapy in osteoarthritis, 7 of them clearly show the benefits of ozone. The concentrations of ozone used in the studies ranged from 20μg/ mL to 15g/mL. The route of administration was intra-articular and rectal insufflation. The frequency of use was, on average, 1 to 3 times a week and the treatment time was between 3 to 4 months in most of the studies. CONCLUSION: The use of ozone produces clinically relevant benefits in patients with osteoarthrosis. Therefore, ozone thera- py in osteoarthrosis represents a low-cost, efficient therapeutic alternative that should be implemented in the country’s Public Health, considering the prevalence of the disease.