Published Paper Details:

ABSTRACT Arthritis has a serious impact on people�s life. It�s a leading cause of disability in people that affects the lifestyle. Arthritic conditions do not usually cause death, but they affect quality of life of a person and leave them morbid. Arthritis limits the ability of people to work and care for themselves and their families. It costs nearly 86.2 billion annually to the nation�s economy. To identify the effectiveness of Hot fomentation & Infra-red application on pain among arthralgic patients. The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of Hot fomentation and Infrared rays on pain among arthralgic patients. In this study an evaluative and comparative research approach was found to be suitable to evaluate the effectiveness of Hot fomentation Vs Infra-red rays application and the results of the findings are compared to choose the best application. Comparative pre-experimental two group pre-test, post-test design was used to answer the hypothesis. Study was at Ramachandra Hospital, Marthandam, Tamilnadu, India. The data was collected from the physiotherapy department, orthopedic wards and orthopedic inpatient and outpatient departments of the hospitals. The total size of the sample was 50 arthralgic patients with pain. A sample of 25 patients each was selected for Hot fomentation application and Infra-red rays application from Ramachandra Hospital. Convenient sampling technique was used in this study .Level of pain after Hot fomentation (group A) and after Infrared rays (group B) application among arthralgic patients are 6.20 and 4.36 respectively. The�t� value obtained for level of pain is 3.07 for group A and group B. This value is significant at 0.05 level. From the mean score it is clear that the patients in group B have an improved level of pain reduction after Infrared rays� application scores of than group A.