Comparison of the Efficacy of Whirlpool and Paraffin Treatments in Women with Symptomatic Hand Osteoarthritis
2 İstanbul Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Eğitim Araştırma Hastanesi, İstanbul, Türkiye
3 İstanbul Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, İstanbul, Türkiye DOI : 10.4274/tftr.75437
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the benefits of whirlpool and paraffin treatments and to compare the efficacy of both methods in symptomatic hand osteoarthritis (OA).
Material and Methods: Fifty-eight women with symptomatic hand OA were randomized into whirlpool and paraffin treatment groups. Treatment period was 15 sessions. Pain was measured by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), functional status was evaluated by the Australian/Canadian (AUSCAN) Osteoarthritis Hand Index, and SF-36 was used for quality of life assessment at baseline and at 3 and 12 weeks.
Results: Significant improvement was obtained in terms of VAS, AUSCAN and SF-36 scores at 3- and 12-week follow-up visits in both groups (p<0.05). The improvement in VAS and AUSCAN scores in the whirlpool group was more significant than that in the paraffin group at 3- and 12-week follow-ups.
Conclusion: Both whirlpool and paraffin treatments were found to be effective in terms of improvement in pain, functional status and quality of life in patients with symptomatic hand OA. The improvement in pain, hand functions and quality of life in the whirlpool group was significantly better.
Keywords : Hand osteoarthritis, whirlpool, paraffi