PURPOSE: To identify the effect of knee joint traction therapy on pain, physical function, and depression in patients with degenerative arthritis. METHODS: In total, 30 patients with degenerative arthritis were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the experimental group, who underwent knee joint traction therapy, and the control group, who underwent general physical therapy (15 patients per group). Pain was measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS), physical function was measured using the Western ontario and McMaster universities osteoarthritis (WOMAC) index, and depression was measured using the Beck depression inventory (BDI). The VAS, WOMAC score, and BDI score were recorded before and after the 4-week treatment. RESULTS: As a result of comparison within groups, the experimental and control group showed significant difference for VAS, WOMAC and BDI after the experiment (p < 0.05). In comparison between the two groups, the experimental group in which knee joint traction was applied showed more significant change in VAS, WOMAC and BDI than the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study showed that knee joint traction therapy was effective in improving pain, physical function, and depression in patients with degenerative arthritis.

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