Page 61 - Acrobat J Trad-21-3-2566

544 วารสารการแพทย์แผนไทยและการแพทย์ ทางเลือก ปีที่ 21 ฉบับที่ 3 กันยายน-ธันวาคม 2566

Comparative Study on the Effectiveness of Lampang Model Herbal Clay Knee
Mask and Standard Treatment for the Lom-Jab-Pong-Haeng-Khao Signs

Wanna Damnoensawat , Ganokwun Buntuchai , Suwanan Namboon *
†,‡
*
* Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine Division, Lampang Provincial Health Office, Hua Wiang Sub-District,
Mueang Lampang District, Lampang 52100, Thailand
† Faculty of sports science and health, Thailand National Sports University Chiang Mai Campus,
Si Phum Sub-District, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Corresponding author: ganokwun.bun@gmail.com
‡
Abstract

Introduction and Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of treatment on the Lom-Jab-Pong-
Haeng-Khao signs (knee osteoarthritis) in patients who received a combination of massage, herbal compress and
Lampang model herbal clay knee mask (herbal knee poultice), and standard treatment.
Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental pre-post design with experimental and control groups.
The participants were patients who received treatment at Thai traditional medical services across 13 locations in
Lampang province; and they were selected using the simple random sampling technique - 277 in the experimental
group and 261 in the control group. Each of them was offered a voluntary choice to receive treatment. The patients
in both groups received massage and herbal compress, whereas the experimental group received an additional treat-
ment with the Lampang herbal knee poultice. The treatment course was five times. Pain points, knee malalignment,
stiff patella, grinding knee sound, knee flexion and knee deformities were assessed. The McNemar test was used
to analyze changes before and after treatment. Fisher’s exact test was used to compare the improvement in signs
between the experimental and control groups. The statistical significance level was set at 0.05.
Results: The participants in the experimental group were 65.23 ± 7.71 years old and those in the control
group were 64.91 ± 7.42 years old. The symptoms of the two groups were not different before treatment; except
for knee abnormalities, there was a significant improvement (p < 0.05) after therapy in both groups. When compar-
ing treatment outcomes between groups, there were significant differences. The experimental group experienced
2.46-fold greater pain relief with 3-point knee acupressure (p < 0.001), 2.38-fold greater improvement in knee
malalignment (p = 0.001), and a two-fold reduction in knee grinding noise (p = 0.019) compared to the control
group. There were no significant differences in the other signs.
Discussion: Herbal knee poultice has demonstrated efficacy in ameliorating knee pain, malalignment, and
crepitus among study participants. This positive outcome is attributed to the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and
cartilage-preserving properties inherent in the herbal medicine. Although the results of signs assessment in this study
are binary data and cannot describe the details of signs levels, the study’s highlight is the collection of data from
real-world situations and the utilization of a large sample size. The obtained results can be utilized to strengthen
policies promoting the Lampang herbal knee poultice.
Conclusion and Recommendation: Adjuvant treatment with the Lampang herbal knee poultice is an ad-
ditional strategy for increasing treatment effectiveness by reducing pain, deflection, and noise in the knee joint.

Key words: herbal clay knee mask, Lampang model, Lom-Jab-Pong-Haeng-Khao, knee osteoarthritis