A preliminary evaluation of the effects of comprehensive rehabilitation on emotional well-being and quality of life in female patients with osteoarthritis Wstępna ocena wpływu kompleksowej rehabilitacji na stan emocjonalny i jakość życia pacjentek z chorobą zwyrodnieniową stawów

Summary Objectives: To evaluate the effects of comprehensive rehabilitation on psychological and emotional well-being as well as on the quali ty of life in female patients with multiple degenerative lesions of the musculoskeletal system. Material and methods: Thirty-one female patients with multiple-site musculoskeletal degenerative lesions were included in the study. Two rehabilitation strategies were used: group I (n = 18) underwent con ventional physiotherapy and kinesiotherapy (aquatic exercises), where as group II ( n = 13) underwent cryotherapy and kinesiotherapy. Each pa tie nt was examined three times: prior to therapy, 4 weeks into her re habilitation course, and 3 months after its completion. The GHQ-28 questionnaire was used to assess the patients’ psychological status and the SF-36 was used to assess the quality of life and daily sub jective pain severity. The results were used in a statistical analysis. Results: According to the subjective pain assessment questionnaire, both groups were comparable in terms of reduction in pain severi ty (%). Pain alleviation was observed in both study groups also based on the SF-36, and reduced pain severity persisted in both groups at 3 months following therapy completion. According to GHQ-28 results, the psychological and emotional well-being of patients after rehabilitation, treated with either aquatic exercises (group I) or cryother apy (group II), clearly improved. In group I, there were clear effects immediately following treatment, with a reduced improvement after 3 months, though not down to the baseline level, whereas in group II a clear and sustained health improvement was observed. Streszczenie