The Effects of 4week Swedish Massage on Knee Joint Proprioception, Muscle Strength of Quadriceps and Osteoarthritis Symptoms in Women with Knee Osteoarthritis1

People with knee osteoarthritis suffer from profound proprioception impairment and decreased muscle strength. Massage is mentioned as an intervention that can relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of four weeks of Swedish massage on knee joint proprioception, muscle strength of quadriceps, and osteoarthritis symptoms in adult women with knee osteoarthritis. Thirty women were included by targeted and available sampling (age 52.60±7.30 years old, height 1.57±0.05 m, body mass74.40±9.60 kg). The subjects were randomly divided into two equal control and intervention groups (n=15). The intervention group received the Swedish massage for 4 weeks (12 sessions). During this period, the control group did not receive any interventional protocol. Symptoms of osteoarthritis, muscle strength of quadriceps, and knee joint proprioception were analyzed in the pre-and post-test using the WOMAC questionnaire, handheld dynamometer, and joint angle reconstruction, respectively. A mixed repeated measure test was used for comparison between and within groups. The results showed a significant improvement in the desired variables of the intervention group compared to the control group (P<0.05). So that osteoarthritis symptoms were significantly improved (P=0.001), and quadriceps muscle strength (P=0.001) and knee joint proprioception (P=0.001) were significantly increased. Based on the findings of this study, massage can increase the strength of quadriceps muscles and improve the knee joint proprioception in women with knee osteoarthritis by decreasing pain and improving physical function. Therefore, it is recommended to use this intervention in order to improve strength, joint proprioception, and symptoms in women with knee osteoarthritis.