Ten Percent Red Ginger Gel Relieves Knee Joint Pain on the Elderly with Osteoarthritis

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis is a disease that causes inflammation, injury, and loss of structure and function of cartilages. A nonpharmacological treatment that is considered to be effective and safe and has minimal side effects is red ginger. AIM: This study investigates the chemical constituents of red ginger extract and the effectiveness of red ginger gel in reducing knee joint pain in the elderly with osteoarthritis. METHODS: This research is a quasi-experimental study with pre- and post-test design. Samples were selected using a purposive sampling technique. The intensity of knee joint pain pre- and postadministration of 0% (control group) and 10% (intervention group) red ginger gel and the chemical components of red ginger extract were collected. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis showed four different components of essential oils that have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects in the red ginger extract. RESULTS: Results showed no difference in the pre- and post-test result in the control group (p = 0.16 > 0.05). Significant differences were found in the pre- and post-test results of the intervention group (p = 0.001 < 0.05). There was a significant difference in the decrease of knee joint pain after intervention between the two groups (p = 0.001 < 0.05). CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that 10% red ginger gel is effective in reducing knee joint pain in the elderly with osteoarthritis.