A Comparative Study on the Effectiveness of Symptom control between Heat and Cold therapy in Patients with Arthritis

Although there are many research studies on the effectiveness of heat and cold therapy for patients with arthritis at home or health care center, little attention has been paid to determining which therapy associates with season is effective for patients with chronic arthritis. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of heat and cold therapy associated with season for patients with arthritis. An experimental design using replications with intervention was employed. A total of 27 female arthritic patients were selected. Data were collected in summer and winter. Hot bag and ice bag were applied on each patient's knee for each 20 minutes alternatively. Joint pain, discomfort and range of motion were measured. Data were analyzed using paired t-test, and two-way ANOVA. The results of this study were ; 1. Joint pain Heat therapy was effective for pain relief, as compared with cold therapy. Heat therapy was more effective for pain relief in winter than in summer. Cold therapy was effective for pain relief, but there was no statistically significant difference of pain relief between summer and winter. 2. Discomfort Discomfort was decreased using heat therapy, whereas it was increased using cold therapy. Although discomfort was decreased using heat therapy in both summer and winter, there was no statistically significant difference of discomfort between summer and winter. Using cold therapy, discomfort was decreased in summer, but increased in winter. and season had effect on discomfort. 3. Range of motion Although there was no statistically significant difference between the range of motion for both heat and cold therapy, range of motion was Increased using both heat and cold therapy. In winter, range of motion was increased rather than in summer by using heat therapy. Using cold therapy, The range of motion was decreased in both summer and winter. There was no stastistically significant difference of range of motion between heat therapy and cold therapy. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference of range of motion between summer and winter. In conclusion, both heat and cold therapy were effective for pain relief, discomfort, and range of motion, especially heat therapy. Heat therapy was effective for pain relief, discomfort, and range of motion in winter, as compared with summer. Cold therapy, however, was effective for only pain relief in winter, The findings suggest the use of heat therapy for patients with arthritis especially in winter.