THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY OF MYOFASCIAL RELEASE FOR PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

The study compared the effect of Myofascial release (MFR) on Quadriceps, Gastrocnemius, and Iliotibial (IT) Band along with conventional care (MFRC) and conventional care (CC) alone in patients with Knee Osteoarthritis. Sixty-four (n=64) patients between the ages of 40 and 70 who had been given an ICD-10-based diagnosis of osteoarthritis. By hospital randomization and concealed allocation, participants were equally distributed between the MFR with conventional treatment (n=31) and conventional care (n=32) groups. In this assessor-blinded randomized clinical trial, MFRC and CC groups received 12 sessions of treatment over 4 weeks. The numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) was used to measure pain and universal goniometer to measure ROM, Manual muscle testing (MMT) to measure muscle strength, and The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) scale to measure disability. The result shows that both groups had significant outcomes compared to baseline (p<.05) in pain, disability, ROM, and muscle strength except for the hamstring. The experimental group's outcome was superior to the conventional group in all outcome measures (p<.05). The study reveals Myofascial release combined with conventional care is more effective than conventional care alone for patients with Knee Osteoarthritis.