A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN RESISTED EXERCISE AND ECCENTRIC EXERCISE WITH SHORTWAVE DIATHERMY ON FUNCTION AMONG OA KNEE SUBJECTS

Background of the study: Osteoarthritis of the knee is the degenerative disease of knee joint with exacerbations of acute inflammation. This study is aimed to determine the effects of resisted exercise and eccentric exercise on pain and functional status among patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness between resisted exercise versus eccentric exercise along with shortwave diathermy on pain and functional disability among the patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Methodology: This experimental study of comparative type is conducted at ACS Medical College and Hospital- out Patient Department. This study duration was carried out for 6 weeks, among 30 patients, ageing 45 to 55 with osteoarthritis of the knee. The subjects were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Thirty subjects with osteoarthritis of the knee were assigned into two groups. The first group (A) was assigned with resisted exercise. The second group (B) was assigned with eccentric exercise. In both groups the treatment was combined with Shortwave diathermy with frequency of 27.12 MHz. Measuring tools used were Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and WOMAC Index. Result: On comparing the mean values of Group A & Group B on VAS and WOMAC score, it shows a significant decrease in the post test mean values in Group A - Resisted Exercises which is more effective than Group B -Eccentric Exercises at P ≤ 0.001. Conclusion: Resisted exercise and shortwave therapy is more effective than Eccentric exercise and short wave therapy in decreasing pain and increasing functional ability in subjects with Osteoarthritis of the knee.