Effectiveness of Tattoo Medicine Compare with Herbal Compress in Patients with Osteoarthritis Knee

Abstract

This research aimed to study the effectiveness of medical tattooing and herbal compress on patients with knee osteoarthritis at Phu-Toei Health Promotion Center, Wichian Buri district, Phetchabun. The subjects of this study consisted of 50 patients with osteoarthritis, aged between 50-75 years old. A simple random sampling technique was applied to divide the sample group into two groups equally, 25 patients in the medical tattooing group and another 25 in the herbal compress group. The research outcomes were general data, knee osteoarthritis severity scale (WOMAC), quality of life, and the degree of knee movement. Paired-samples t-test and Independent t-test were used for statistical analyzing.

            Research results illustrated that medical tattooing and herbal compress differently minimized the severity of osteoarthritis of the knee, increased the degree of knee movement, and upgraded the patients’ quality of life after seven days of treatment with a statistical significance (p<0.05). When comparing the two groups after seven days of treatment, the medical tattooing differently reduced the severity of osteoarthritis of the knee more than the herbal compress in terms of pain, joint stiffness, and joint utilization with a statistical significance (p<0.05). Moreover, when comparing the quality of life and degree of knee joint movement of both groups seven days after treatment, the medical tattooing and herbal compress similarly upgraded the patient’s quality of life and increased the degree of knee joint with a statistical significance. Medical tattooing improved the degree of the knee joint movement, so the patients could perform the routine and had a better quality of life. Furthermore, there was no report on the side effects of the treatment.