The effectiveness of non-surgical treatment in reducing pain and improving quality of life among patients with osteoarthritis of the knee in Thalang Hospital.

Abstract

         This quasi - experimental  research aimed to study the pain  visual analog scale  and  modified  WOMAC  score of the with knee  osteoarthritis  to compare before and after non - surgical treatment of Orthopedist and the Multidisciplinary team  of  Thalang  Hospital ,  Phuket  Province.  The population  consisted of 30 elderly  patients  with  osteoarthritis of the knee receiving treatment at  Thalang Hospital.  Using a  specific  random  method.  Data  were  collected  by using an interview  form  consisting  of  4  parts : personal  characteristics , pain levels of patients  ,  quality  of  life  of  patients   and   the  degree  of  severity   of  knee osteoarthritis  from  radiographs. Interview forms are verified for content validity by experts.  Data  were  analyzed using  Descriptive  statistics Used to  describe personal characteristics  of the elderly , Analyze data with Paired t-test statistics. The results showed that the study of non-surgical treatment efficacy in reducing pain  and  improving the quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee at Thalang Hospital. It was found that the pain visual analog scale was 8.03 and 3.37 (P-value<0.01) before and after , and the modified WOMAC score was also improved.  The  mean  total  scores before  and  after were  131.40  and  63.10  (P-value<0.01) after participating in the non - surgical  osteoarthritis  treatment program of the Orthopedist and the multidisciplinary team of  Thalang  Hospital. Compared to before joining the program.