The Effectiveness of D-Phase Cataplasms for Absorbing Toxins in Knee-Osteoarthritis Patients at Khlong Ta Khot Health Promoting Hospital

Abstract

This study aimed to study and compare the effectiveness of D-Phase cataplasms in pain alleviation and toxin absorption for patients with knee osteoarthritis at Khlong Ta Khot Health Promoting Hospital, Photharam District, Ratchaburi Province. The sample consisted of 30 knee osteoarthritis patients, randomly assigned into one control group and two experimental groups. Research tools included the Face Pain Scale (FPS), a modified Thai WOMAC scale, and two D-Phase cataplasm formulas (Formula 1 and Formula 2) for toxin absorption in knee osteoarthritis. The research was implemented for two weeks with a total of six sessions, conducted thrice per week. Data were collected before and after treatment using the mentioned tools. The data analysis were percentages, means, standard deviations, paired samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and Bonferroni post hoc tests, with a significance level of .05. The result indicated that knee osteoarthritis pain level means measuring by FPS equals 1.68, and by WOMAC equals 3.35, both are in less pain level. Comparative results of the effectiveness of the D-Phase detoxifying poultice found that all groups had pain levels significantly different at the .05 level. The Control group has the lowest means by FPS and WOMAC, before and after treatments, followed by the first experimental group (Formula 1) and the second experimental group (Formula 2), respectively. It can be concluded that the effectiveness of D-Phase cataplasms in pain alleviation and toxin absorption for patients with knee osteoarthritis is not under this research hypothesis.