Extracorporeal Shock Wave Alleviates Knee Contracture in Rats by Inhibiting Hypoxia-Mediated Pyroptosis in Joint Capsular Fibroblasts

Background

Joint immobilization frequently causes joint contracture, which may significantly impact an individual’s quality of life. Consequently, extracorporeal shock wave (ESW) has been increasingly adopted to manage various bone and joint diseases. Our study investigated whether ESW therapy relieves knee contracture and if it mitigates the underlying hypoxia-induced pyroptosis of joint-capsule fibroblasts.