Abstract
INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES: This randomized controlled intervention study investigated the effect of flaxseed poultice compress application on pain and hand functions in patients with primary interphalangeal hand osteoarthritis (OA). METHOD: The study sample consisted of 82 patients who met the inclusion criteria in the Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic at a University Hospital between January 15, 2017, and May 15, 2018. Patients included in the sample groups were selected randomly. Three sample groups were formed: intervention group I (flaxseed poultice compress) (n = 33), intervention group II (hot compress) (n = 29), and control group (n = 20). The interventions were applied once a day for 7 days in a row. These patients also continued their routine pharmacological treatment. descriptive characteristics identification form, visual analog scale (VAS), Australian-Canadian (AUSCAN) Osteoarthritis (OA) Hand Index, and side effect evaluation form were used as data collection tools. RESULTS: The means of VAS scores of patients in the intervention group I were 6.03 ± 0.25 on day 0, 2.2 ± 0.30 on day 8, and 3.39 ± 0.32 on day 15. The means of AUSCAN total scores of patients in the intervention group I were 40.84 ± 1.76 on day 0, 14.03 ± 1.66 on day 8, and 15.78 ± 1.66 on day 15. The present study showed that pain significantly decreased and the hand function efficiency increased in patients treated with flaxseed poultice compress compared with the hot compress and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to pharmacological treatment, flaxseed poultice compress intervention is recommended to be used as a nursing intervention for reducing pain and increasing hand functions for patients with hand OA in cooperation with the physicians and other health professionals.
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Key Points
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of flaxseed poultice compress application on pain and hand functions in individuals with primary interphalangeal hand osteoarthritis (OA). Pain is one of the major symptoms of OA. The present study showed that pain significantly decreased in patients treated with flaxseed poultice compress compared with the hot compress and control groups. The comparison of the hot compress and control groups on the 8th and 15th days showed that pain did not decrease significantly compared with the flaxseed poultice compress group. Comparisons of the mean of AUSCAN total scores showed that the hand function efficiency increased in the group treated with flaxseed poultice compared with the hot compress and control groups. The present study showed that the use of flaxseed poultice compresses was beneficial for reducing the pain and increasing hand functions in patients with hand OA when used in combination with pharmacological treatment.