A Comparative Study to Evaluate the Effect of Warm Mustard Oil Vs. Warm Mustard Oil with Camphor on Relief of Knee Joint Pain among Rural Women in Selected Areas of Puducherry

Background: Osteoarthritis is a common arthropathy of the knee. In India, the prevalence of the disease in the adult rural population is estimated to be 5.8%.

Aim: The main aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of warm mustard oil and warm mustard oil with camphor on reduction of knee joint pain among rural women in selected rural areas of Puducherry.

Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental study (two group pretest and posttest design) done among 60 rural women with knee joint pain. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and modified WOMAC scale. Data analysis was done using inferential and descriptive statistics.

Results: Totally 60 rural women participated in the study. It was observed that majority of the samples were in the age group between 51-55years. Majority of the samples in both group I and group II had moderate level of pain. After warm mustard oil massage and warm mustard oil with camphor massage, the pain level had reduced to mild level in group I and group II respectively.The mean pretest values of pain score in both groups had significant difference during posttest measurement of mean pain score. The coefficient of variance analysis revealed that warm mustard oil with camphor massage reduced the pain level more significantly than warm mustard oil massage.

Conclusion: Knee joint pain is an early symptom of osteoarthritis and it is the leading cause of disability in humans especially in women.Hence efforts like use of warm mustard oil or warm mustard oil with camphor massage which is easily accessible and cost effective methods to reduce the knee joint pain should be made by the community health nurse to bring down the prevalence of knee joint pain.