Comparison of Mini Squat and Endurance Training in Improving Quality of Life in Knee Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most prevailing disorder in elderly people affecting their quality of life and reducing mobility. Objective: To compare the e�cacy of mini squats and endurance training in improving the quality of life in knee osteoarthritis. Methods: After receiving the approval from ERC of The Neuro-counsel Clinic, the current RCT sample size was 30 participants calculated by Epitool, from 16 May 2023 to 15 September 2023 and executed at The Neurocounsel Clinics/Hospital. Both genders between the ages of 40-65 years old with OA of grade 2-3 on the R&L scale were included in this study. Those participants who had pain greater than 8 on PNS along with serious comorbidity were excluded from this study. Two equal groups were formed. Group A was given mini squats at the rate of two sets each containing 10 squats. Group B was given endurance training by use of a therapeutic band using quadriceps sets. 3x/week for 4 weeks were given to each group. The assessment was made based on the WOMAC scale & and SF-36 QoL. The level of signi�cance was kept at <0.05. Results: Within groups analysis of the WOMAC scale, revealed that both interventions showed marked improvement with p<0.05. However, group analysis also showed a signi�cant difference as p<0.05 on quality of life and WOMAC Scale. Conclusions: It was revealed that mini squats are more effective in improving knee OA quality of life as compared to endurance training by the use of a therapeutic band.

fourth leading cause of disability in 2020 [7].There is no exact cause of OA known so far due to which present interventions are directed to tackle the pain of a sufferer [8].There are many interventions available at the time with the innovation of new technology.In pharmacological intervention, just pain killers like NSAIDs and opioids, muscle relaxants (Tizanidine), tricyclic antidepressants and pregabalin are used [9][10][11].In surgical intervention, various techniques from minimal invasive like arthroplasty, joint replacement and reconstructions are commonly used [12].In physical therapy, there are many types of interventions which are employed by the Physical Therapist to manage OA patient pain and improve their quality of life such as manual mobilization, manipulation, soft tissue mobilization, massage, endurance exercises, Interferential therapy, TENS, cold laser, SWD, Microwave diathermy, physical exercises are employed [13].Mini squats are exercises which are used to enhance the endurance of knee stabilizers which in turn help to reduce the weights on joints by substituting them as a result of which the patient's pain level is reduced.Therapeutic bands are resistive rubber bands which are used for endurance training to improve the muscles' strength and power which in turn helps to diminish the pain in OA sufferers.The purpose of this study was to compare the e cacy of mini squats and endurance training in improving the quality of life in knee osteoarthritis.

M E T H O D S
quadriceps sets at a rate of three times a week for four weeks.The questionnaire used to collect the data was the WOMAC scale and QoL (SF-36) in this study.Data for the WOMAC scale were collected at the baseline after 2 weeks of intervention and after 4 weeks of intervention while for SF-36 QoL, we collected data at baseline and after 4 weeks of intervention.The normality of data were checked by the use of Shapiro Wilk test.As our data were normally distributed for the WOMAC Scale, we employed repeated measure ANOVA for within-group analysis and independent t-test for between-group analysis whereas for SF-36 QoL our data were non-normally distributed so we employed the Man Whitney U test for between-groups analysis.The level of signi cance was kept<0.05along with CI=95%.
This study was initiated after receiving the ethical review committee approval from The Neuro-counsel Clinic.This Randomized control trial (experimental study) was conducted at the Neuro-counsel Clinics from 16 May 2023 to 15 September 2023.The duration of this study was four months and the sample size of this study was 30 participants, which was calculated by the use of Epitool, between 40-65 years of age without gender discrimination were included in this study.Those participants who had a grade 2-3 on the R and L scale were included who had no serious type of co-morbidity.Those individuals who had a pain level of more than 8 on PNS, and serious disorders such as Parkinson's disease, stroke, recent unhealed fracture, diabetes mellitus & and hypertension were excluded from this study.Two groups of participants were formed and participants were distributed equally (n=15 each) by the use of a sealed envelope which was a type of non-probability sampling technique.Group A (Exp) was given mini squats at an angle of 10-15 degrees at a rate of 10 repetitions of two sets along with 10 minutes of interferential therapy, 3 times a week for a period of four weeks.Group B (Control) participants were given endurance by use of a therapeutic band at a rate of 10

D I S C U S S I O N
An Independent t-test based on the WOMAC scale which is used to measure the OA patient's pain health status and functions revealed that there was an improvement in the mean of both groups concerning the treatment intervals as revealed in Figure 1.But Group A (Exp Group) mean value changed more vigorously as compared to Group B (Control Group), It was concluded that mini squats were more effective in improving functions of knee OA sufferers based on the WOMAC Scale as compared to endurance training by the use of therapeutic band (Figure 1).Both groups demonstrated improvement in MD(IQR) value on SF-36 QoL.There was no signi cant difference between groups as p<0.05 value revealed that the mini squats technique is more effective in improving the quality of life in knee osteoarthritis patients as compared to the endurance training by the use of a therapeutic band (Table 3).

Table 1 :
Demographic Data (Frequency & Mean ± SD) The mean age of patients in group A was 50.20±6.95whileingroup B, this value was 53.33±7.45.There was a total of 30 participants in this study who were divided into two equal groups (n=15 each).There were 8(53.3%)participants that were married in group A while in group B married patients were 10(66.7%).Single participants' frequency in group A was 7(46.7%)whereas it was 05(33.3%) in group B. The frequency of male participants in Group A was 9(60%) while in Group B this value was 04(26.7%).Females in group A were 6(40%) whereas in group B female participants were 11(73.3%)(Table1).DOI: https://doi.org/10.54393/pjhs.v4i10.1067Talha M et al., Improving Quality of Life in Knee Osteoarthritis PJHS VOL. 4 Issue.

10 October 2023 showed
similar results in both groups.Our study results were supported by this study that mini squats are bene cial for improving pain and quality of life[14].Our study results were in coherence with this study[18].Nosheen et al., conducted an RCT to evaluate the e cacy of endurance training and KT in improving the quality of life in knee OA patients.They formed two groups in their study as we did in ours.They gave one group endurance training by the use of therapeutic exercises as we did and the other group was given kinesio tape.They found no signi cant difference between groups as both techniques were found to be effective.These results are also in coherence with our study[19].De Zwart et al., conducted an RCT to evaluate the e cacy of high resistance exercise training versus low RT

Table 2 :
Within groups Analysis WOMAC Scale (Repeated Measure ANOVA) After 4 weeks of intervention, the median and IQR in group A was 92.65(3.57)while in group B it was 76.52(3).