Effects of Physical Therapy Modalities on Osteoarthritis Patients

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative disorder characterized by pain, swelling and decrease willingness to move. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of physical therapy modalities on alleviating the primary complaints of patients suffering from Osteoarthritis of the knee such as pain and functional disabilities. An experimental method was used composing of twenty elderly patients diagnosed with Osteoarthritis, ten joined the experimental group and another ten for the control group all of whom were treated with Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator for fifteen minutes, Hydrocollator packs for fifteen minutes and Active Range of Motion exercise for ten repetitions in three sets at their respective homes. To test the modalities effectiveness after sixteen treatment sessions, the Numeric Pain Scale and Lequesne Algofunctional Index standardized tools were utilized which was subjected to correlation frequency for interpretation. All pertinent data of patients and procedures done were regarded with utmost confidentiality and sensitivity. The results indicated that patients who underwent Physical Therapy sessions had reduced pain scale and improved Lequesne Algofunctional Index scores according to the pre and post evaluation done after every four treatments thereby concluding that such form of treatments can decrease the symptoms felt. Keywords - Physical therapy modalities, osteoarthritis, Numeric Pain Scale and Lequesne Algofunctional Index, Tagbilaran City, Philippines