A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Hydrotherapy on Sensorimotor Functions among Patients with Osteoarthritis in Government Headquarters Hospital at Cheyyar

Background: Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and the leading cause of pain and physical disability among elderly population. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disorder having a significant economic impact on our health system. Osteoarthritis is known to be most frequent in the lower extremity, especially the knee joint. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of hydrotherapy on sensorimotor functions among knee osteoarthritis patients. Design: Quasi-experimental design—one-group pretest and posttest—with control group was adopted for the study. Setting: Government Headquarters Hospital at Cheyyar. Participants: Thirty osteoarthritis patients who fulfill the inclusion criteria were selected by purposive sampling. Methods: A pretest was conducted by using modified Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis index scale (WOMAC) for osteoarthritis. Immediately after the pretest, hydrotherapy was given to the patient for 8 weeks and the posttest was conducted to assess the effectiveness of hydrotherapy. Collected data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: In pre- and posttest, the paired ‘t’ test value for control group was 3.1 (p < 0.05) and experimental group was 9.3 (p < 0.05). The unpaired ‘t’ test value for control and experimental groups was 6.9 (p < 0.05). This result showed that hydrotherapy was effective in improving the sensorimotor functions of the patients with osteoarthritis. There was a statistically non-significant association found between the posttest scores of the sample and their demographic variables. Conclusion: The findings imply that hydrotherapy is a non-pharmacological, cost-effective and simple intervention without any adverse effects. The results proved that the hydrotherapy was an effective intervention to improve the sensorimotor functions among patients with osteoarthritis.