Effectiveness of Thai Herb heat treatment in older person with Osteoarthritis of Knee

Abstract

This research is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-post design, aiming to investigate the effectiveness of Thai Herb heat treatment for relieving pain and stiffness in the knee joint, as well as the functional ability of the knee joint in older person individuals with knee osteoarthritis. The sample consisted of 20 older person participants who were screened using the Oxford Knee Score assessment, with scores ranging from 0 to 29, indicating moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis. The participants received Thai Herb heat treatments three times, once a week. The tools used included a general information interview and the Thai version of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC score).The herbs used in the treatment included zingiber zerumbet (Zingiber cassumunar Roxb.), turmeric rhizomes (Curcuma longa L.), ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe.), galangal (Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd.), fingerroot (Boesenbergia rotunda (L.) Mansf.), and lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf), combined in a ratio of 100 grams per knee joint, along with zingiber zerumbet oil and salt. Data were collected between October 2021 and September 2022. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequencies, means, and standard deviations were used, along with the Paired Sample T-test to compare WOMAC scores before and after treatment.The results showed that the Thai Herb heat treatment significantly reduced the severity of knee osteoarthritis. For example, pain in the knee joint, as assessed by the WOMAC score, decreased from an average of 5.76 ± 0.99 to 3.07 ± 0.93 (p < 0.01).