The Effectiveness of Infrared and Retrowalking Exercise on Pain Reduction in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis is a condition that causes weak bone strength and poor bone formation. The main cause is musculoskeletal pain. Treatment of pain in knee osteoarthritis patients is usually through infrared and retrowalking. The mechanism of infrared in reducing pain is through mild heating which gives a sedative effect on sensory nerve endings, while retrowalking decreases pain through rehabilitation exercise techniques for the lower extremities. This research aimed to compare the effectiveness of infrared and retrowalking on pain reduction in knee osteoarthritis patients at Puskesmas Kendal Kerep. This was a quasi-experimental study with 30 participants from Puskesmas Kendalkerep, divided into 2 groups: Group I (with infrared, n = 15) and Group II (with retrowalking, n = 15). Participants in both groups were given their interventions for 5 weeks. The level of pain was measured using the VAS scale at baseline and after the intervention. The paired t-test analysis showed that there was an improvement in pain in both groups after being given the interventions, while the independent t-test showed that there was no significant difference between the groups in the level of pain reduction.
 Keywords: knee osteoarthritis, knee pain, infrared, retrowalking