THE EFFECTS OF MUSCLE ENERGY TECHNIQUE AND STATIC STRETCHING OF GASTROCNEMIUS ON PAIN AND DISABILITY IN KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disorder and a leading cause of disability associated with pain, restricted ROM and difficulty in performing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Muscle Energy Technique (MET) and static stretching on gastrocnemius muscles among the patients suffering with knee OA. METHODOLOGY A 2-arm Randomized Control Trial was conducted at Ziauddin Hospital among 120 patients suffering with grade-II OA. Initial screening was conducted on the basis of Knee OOS. Group A received the MET whereas Group B received Static Stretching Technique both group received the treatment for three days/week for 4 weeks. RESULTS In initial evaluation, our results revealed that group A shows the KOOS score 0.43±0.10 that improved significantly after four weeks of treatment to 0.49±0.14. Our results revealed that at 95% CI, the KOOS score of patients significantly improved in both the groups p<0.05 CONCLUSION Our study concluded that Muscle Energy Technique is found to be more effective technique in reducing pain and functional disability in knee OA patients.