Ever heard of ‘Khalifa therapy’?

Mohamed Khalifa is a therapist who works in Austria and has been practicing manual therapy for more than 30 years. His treatment, the so-called “Khalifa therapy”, is based on rhythmically applying manual pressure on parts of the body. Khalifa claims to be able to speed the self-healing processes of the human body. He has treated many top-athletes from all over the world; however, his method has never been investigated in detail within interdisciplinary scientific studies.

Now the first RCT of Khalifa therapy has become available.

Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an injury which usually needs to be treated surgically. It does not heal spontaneously, although some claim this commonly accepted knowledge to be not true. This randomized, controlled, observer-blinded, multicentre study was performed to test the effectiveness of Khalifa therapy for ACL. Thirty patients with complete ACL rupture, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) verified, were included. Study examinations (e.g., international knee documentation committee (IKDC) score) were performed at inclusion (t 0). Patients were randomized to receive either standardised physiotherapy (ST) or additionally 1 hour of Khalifa therapy at the first session (STK). Twenty-four hours later, study examinations were performed again (t 1). Three months later control MRI and follow-up examinations were performed (t 2).

Initial status was comparable between both groups. There was a highly significant difference of mean IKDC score results at t 1 and t 2. After 3 months, 47% of the STK patients, but no ST patient, demonstrated an end-to-end homogeneous ACL in MRI. Clinical and physical examinations were significantly different in t 1 and t 2. ACL healing can be improved with manual therapy. Physical activity could be performed without pain and nearly normal range of motion after one treatment of specific pressure.

The authors of this study concluded that spontaneous healing of ACL rupture is possible within 3 months after lesion, enhanced by Khalifa therapy. The effect sizes of 1.6 and 2.0 standard deviations after treatment and after 3 months are considerable and prompt further work. Further progress in understanding the underlying mechanisms including placebo will be possible when more experience with the manual pressure therapy has been gathered by other therapists.

The authors of this RCT state that according to common knowledge, it (ACL) does not heal spontaneously. Other authors disagree with this notion:

Observations on 14 patients with ACL, for instance, indicated an acutely injured ACL may eventually spontaneously heal without using an extension brace, allowing return to athletic activity. Another study suggested that an acutely injured ACL has healing capability. It also suggests that conservative management of the acute ACL injury can yield satisfactory results in a group of individuals who have low athletic demands and continuous ACL on MRI, provided the patients are willing to accept the slight risk of late ACL reconstruction and meniscal injury.

So yes, the authors of the new RCT are correct in stating: spontaneous healing of ACL rupture is possible within 3 months … but the healing might indeed be SPONTANEOUS, i.e. unrelated to the Khalifa therapy. Before we can accept that Khalifa therapy is anything but a theatrical placebo, this RCT needs independent replication. Generally speaking, it seems a bad idea to make exaggerated claims on the basis of one single trial, particularly for treatments that are as implausible as this one.