engleski

Local cryotherapy, comparison of cold air and ice massage on pain and handgrip strength in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The main benefits of cryotherapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are in reducing inflammation, swelling and relieving joint pain caused by active arthritis. Patients and methods. The aim of this study was to compare the short-term effects of cold air therapy vs. ice massage, on pain and handgrip strength in patients with RA. The study included 30 patients with active RA, 26 (86.7%) women and 4 (13.3%) men, average age 63.73 ±9.7 years. Patients were randomly divided into two groups, with each group consisting of 15 patients. The first group received cold air therapy and the second group ice massage of the hands. The pain was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS ; 0-10), while handgrip strength (kg) was measured using Jamar hand hydraulic dynamometer. Descriptive statistics, Independent Samples T- test, and Paired Samples T-test were used for statistical analysis. Results. In both groups, pain and right- handgrip strength were measured immediately prior and after cryotherapy, and 30 and 60 minutes after cryotherapy. Pain intensities for cold air therapy were as follows: 5.33 (±2.44), 3.13 (±2.67), 2.87 (±2.56), 2.80 (±2.73) and pain intensity was significantly lower 60 minutes after the treatment (p=0.01).Pain intensities for ice massage were as follows: 5.20 (±2.37), 2.87 (±2.42), 2.60 (±2.23), 2.67 (±2.28) and pain intensity was again significantly lower 60 minutes after the treatment (p=0.01). There was no significant difference in pain alleviation between the groups regarding the used method of cryotherapy. Right-handgrip strength values for cold air therapy were as follows: 12.98 (±9.98), 15.61 (±11.44), 14.88 (±10.61), 13.75 (±10.21) and for the ice massage were: 13.37 (±6.64), (±7.33), 15.80 (±8.89), 14.74 (±8.04). There was no significant difference in handgrip strength after any method of cryotherapy. Conclusion. Our results showed that both methods of cryotherapy provide significant pain alleviation in active RA patients, which is maintained one hour after the treatment. Both methods were also shown to slightly improve the handgrip strength, but this effect was not statistically significant.

rheumatoid arthritis ; cryotherapy ; pain ; handgrip strength

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