The Effects of Therapeutic Massage on the Range of Motion of Knee Joints among Patients with Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a serious health problem in Thailand. The therapeutic massage is an alternative medicine to increase range of motion of knee joints. This study aimed to examine the effects of therapeutic massage on the range of motion of knee joints among patients with osteoarthritis. The samples were 32 osteoarthritis patients seeking treatment at Khlung Hospital. The samples were purposively selected and given therapeutic massage for three weeks. The study tools used are: 1) questionnaire which consists of two parts: demographic characteristics and a form for range movement of knee joint record; and 2) goniometer where range movements of knee joint before and after receiving therapeutic massage were compared by Paired t-test. The results revealed that after receiving therapeutic massage, average scores of range movement of knee flexion and extension were significantly higher than that before receiving therapeutic massage(t = 7.759 p <.05, t = 7.744 pp <.05 respectively). The findings showed that the therapeutic massage could increase the range movement of knee joints. Therefore, therapeutic massage should be promoted as a complementary medicine among osteoarthritis patients. Keywords - Health Education, therapeutic massage, range movement, osteoarthritis, quasi-experimental design, Thailand