Abstract
Background: Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and the leading cause of pain and physical disability among elderly population. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disorder having a significant economic impact on our health system. Osteoarthritis is known to be most frequent in the lower extremity, especially the knee joint. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of hydrotherapy on sensorimotor functions among knee osteoarthritis patients. Design: Quasi-experimental design—one-group pretest and posttest—with control group was adopted for the study. Setting: Government Headquarters Hospital at Cheyyar. Participants: Thirty osteoarthritis patients who fulfill the inclusion criteria were selected by purposive sampling. Methods: A pretest was conducted by using modified Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis index scale (WOMAC) for osteoarthritis. Immediately after the pretest, hydrotherapy was given to the patient for 8 weeks and the posttest was conducted to assess the effectiveness of hydrotherapy. Collected data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: In pre- and posttest, the paired ‘t’ test value for control group was 3.1 (p < 0.05) and experimental group was 9.3 (p < 0.05). The unpaired ‘t’ test value for control and experimental groups was 6.9 (p < 0.05). This result showed that hydrotherapy was effective in improving the sensorimotor functions of the patients with osteoarthritis. There was a statistically non-significant association found between the posttest scores of the sample and their demographic variables. Conclusion: The findings imply that hydrotherapy is a non-pharmacological, cost-effective and simple intervention without any adverse effects. The results proved that the hydrotherapy was an effective intervention to improve the sensorimotor functions among patients with osteoarthritis.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call