A Comparative study to evaluate the effectiveness of heat and cold application with range of motion exercise on pain joint stiffness and physical activity among both genders with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

Heat and cold application helps to reduce inflammation and ease the pain and stiffness due to arthritis. It is required to evaluate that which therapy works best for pain and find out the right combination of hot packs and cold packs to get the best relief from joint pain.A 1ºC of body temperature, increases the tissue temperature and is associated with 10% to 15% increase in local tissue metabolism. Heat therapy is delivered by three mechanisms such as conduction, convection and conversion. Increased blood flow facilitates tissue healing by supplying protein, nutrients and oxygen at the site of inflammation. (Cameron, 1999). This increased metabolism aids the healing process by increasing both catabolic and anabolic reactions that are needed to destroy and remove metabolic by-products of tissue damage and provides the milieu for tissue maintenance. The central effects may lead to skin warming with increased activation of the thalamus and posterior insula of the brain. In addition, the thalamus and S2 region of the cerebral cortex activated by tactile stimulation. These direct effects on the brain may ease the sensation of pain in the brain, thereby providing pain relief. Topical heat treatment applied directly on the skin increases the deep tissue temperature and blood flow (Mulkern, 1999). According to arthritis foundation application of heat and cold therapy is the best pain relief intervention for knee osteoarthritis (Yvette, 2017). Since there are conflicting results, there is a need to investigate the effect of heat and cold application in both genders with knee osteoarthritis newline