The Effect of Stretching Exercise on Reducing the Intensity of Osteoarthritis Knee Joint Pain in the Elderly in Kutambaru Village, Munthe District, Karo Regency

Knee osteoarthritis is one of the main causes of chronic pain and decreased mobility in the elderly. This study aims to analyze the effect of stretching exercise on reducing the intensity of knee joint pain in the elderly in Kutambaru Village, Munte District, Karo Regency. The study used a pre-experimental pretest–posttest one group design with 21 respondents selected in total sampling. The stretching exercise intervention was carried out twice per week for 8 weeks. Pain intensity was measured using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) before and after the intervention. The results of the analysis showed a significant decrease in NRS score after intervention (p = 0.000). The average pretest NRS score of 37.14 decreased to 28.24 in the posttest. This study concluded that stretching exercise is effective in reducing the intensity of knee joint pain in the elderly with genu osteoarthritis, so it can be recommended as a community physiotherapy program.