Short-term efficacy of paraffin therapy and home-based exercise programs in the treatment of symptomatic hand osteoarthritis

Özet

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effects of a home-based exercise program in combination with paraffin therapy on pain,functional status, grip strength, and quality of life (QoL) and to compare the outcomes of these two treatment modalities.Patients and methods: This prospective, single-blind, randomized-controlled study included a total of 61 patients (8 males, 53 females,mean age 59.22 years; range, 35 to 78 years) who were diagnosed with hand osteoarthritis (HOA) according to the American College ofRheumatology criteria between November 2016 and February 2017. The first group (group 1) (n=31) received paraffin therapy + home-basedexercise program and the second group (group 2) (n=30) received home-based exercise program alone. All patients were assessed using theVisual Analog Scale (VAS), Australian/Canadian (AUSCAN) Osteoarthritis Hand Index, Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), HandGrip Strength (HGS), and Finger Pinch Strength (FPS) at baseline and at two and six weeks after the intervention.Results: In group 1, there were statistically significant improvements in all parameters at two and six weeks (p<0.05). Statistically significantdifferences were observed in the HGS and AUSCAN Osteoarthritis Hand Index scores in group 2 at two and six weeks (p<0.05). Inter-groupanalysis showed statistically significant differences in favor of group 1 in the VAS, HAQ, AUSCAN Osteoarthritis Hand Index, HGS, and FPSscores at two and six weeks compared to baseline scores (p<0.05).Conclusion: Paraffin therapy combined with home-based exercise program in patients with symptomatic HOA provides effective paincontrol and is effective in improving functional status, HGS, FPS, and QoL in short term.