• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.251-260
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• 2009

Objectives : To investigate reliability and validity of Korean translation of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities(WOMAC) osteoarthritis index. Methods : The reliablity, construct validity of the Korean WOMAC Index in the patient of knee osteoarthritis was investigated. Test-retest reliability was quantified with pearson's correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient. Internal consistency was quantified with Cronbach's ${\alpha}$. and construct validity with pearson's correlation coefficient by correlating of the Visual Analog Scale(VAS). Results : Test-retest reliability of Korean WOMAC Index for pain was 0.76 to 0.95, stiffness was 0.89 to 0.94, and physical function was 0.71 to 0.95. Intraclass correlation coefficient for pain was 0.76 to 0.94, stiffness was 0.54 to 0.89, and physical function was 0.70 to 0.95. Internal consistency were 0.94 and 0.94 for the first and second time, respectively. Construct validity for pain was 0.79, for stiffness was 0.66, and physical function was 0.67. Conclusions : The Korean translation of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities(WOMAC) osteoarthritis index is reliable, valid assessment tool in knee osteoarthritis.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.20-29
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC)-VA3.0 in patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA). The sample consisted of 301 patients who had received treatments at the physical therapy units of 5 medical institutions in Andong City in june 2006. Questionnaires on the WOMAC were recruited by 12 physical therapists. The internal structure and reliability of the scales were evaluated by means of item-internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient: ${\alpha}$), item-discriminant validity, and Pearson's relation coefficient. To explore construct validity, we conducted a principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation analysis. The criterion for factor extraction was an eigenvalue >1.0. The average age of the patients was 62.1 years. All WOMAC subscales (pain, stiffness, and physical function) were internally consistent with Cronbach's coefficients of .81, .91, and .80, respectively. The internal consistency reliability of item-each scale were also internally consistent with Cronbach's coefficient of .89 (Pearson's correlation coefficient: .71~.84), .93 (.89~.91), and .96 (.67~.91), respectively. However, high correlation was found among 3 items (.66~.83, .66~.67, and .67~.83), so the item-discriminant validity was low (${\alpha}$ coefficient: .81, .91, .80, respectively). The construct validity by factor analysis was low because it was not consistent With WOMAC-VA3.0. In conclusion, the results reported here confirm the reliability of the WOMAC in patients with OA of the hip and knee. The collection of information on the hip and knee osteoarthritis using this instrument was acceptable to patients. A further prospective multi-center study will be necessary to prove the construct validity.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.82-89
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• 2007

The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) is a valid and widely used instrument for the assessment of osteoarthritis patients. In this study, data was obtained from the out-patients with painful osteoarthritis of the knee. One hundred-three out-patients were interviewed by physical therapists. In an exploratory way, a Korean version of the KWOMAC was analyzed for unidimensionality, item separation, and item difficulty using the Winsteps programs. Ninety-five patients with osteoarthritis of the knee over 65 years were analyzed for Rash analysis. In the analysis several functional items poorly fit to the model. These items included "heavy domestic duties" and "standing". In the pain domain, one item ("at night while in bed") did not fit the model. In the stiffness domain one item ("after sitting, lying, or resting later in the day") did not fit the model. Although 4 items from the 3 domains (pain, stiffness, function domain) do not fit well, the KWOMAC domains were confirmed by Rasch analysis. Thus the KWOMAC needs to be further examined before it can be used to properly determine the health status of the elderly with OA.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.161-168
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• 2016

Objectives : This study was done to show the clinical effect of miniscalpel acupuncture treatment on osteoarthritis of the knee which is refractory to acupuncture treatment. Methods : A patient was treated with acupuncture for three weeks, non-treated(wash out period) for two weeks, and treated with miniscalpel acupuncture for three weeks. The effect of treatments were measured with Visual Analogue Scale(VAS), Range of Motion(ROM), Short form McGill pain questionnaire(SF-MPQ), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index(WOMAC). Results : During the three weeks of acupuncture treatment, VAS, SF-MPQ and WOMAC improved, but after two weeks of the wash out period each score worsened. During the three weeks of miniscalpel acupuncture VAS, SF-MPQ, and WOMAC improved while ROM improved remarkably. Conclusion : These results suggest that miniscalpel acupuncture might be a therapeutic option for knee degenerative osteoarthritis patients who does not responded to acupuncture treatment.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.64-67
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• 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of thread-embedding therapy for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. There were 20 patients treated with thread-embedding therapy at various acupoints on the muscles around the knee. Gender, age, location, morbidity period, numeric rating scale (NRS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) index, improvement result, side effects, and patient's satisfaction were investigated. After the treatment, the NRS score (z = -4.07, p < 0.001) and WOMAC (p < 0.001) indices decreased in most patients. The NRS score decreased by more than 2 points in 95% of the patients. The WOMAC index decreased by 6-12 points. There were no serious side effects, although bruising, pain, and edema were observed. Overall, 85% of the patients felt satisfied with the thread-embedding therapy. These findings suggested that thread-embedding therapy was effective and may be used widely for knee osteoarthritis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 2023

PURPOSE: The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis (WOMAC) index has been used to measure the outcome of total knee replacement (TKR), but studies on its reliability and validity are limited. The present study examined the reliability and validity of this index for patients with knee osteoarthritis who underwent TKR. METHODS: Seventy-one inpatients and outpatients who underwent bilateral TKR for knee osteoarthritis were included in this study. The pain assessment scale and WOMAC index were used to evaluate the participants every two weeks to examine the test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity. RESULTS: The test-retest reliability scores for pain, stiffness, and physical function were .75-.92, .85-.90, and .75-.95, respectively. The corresponding intraclass correlation coefficients were .75-.88, .76-.88, and .71-.95, respectively. The internal consistency score in the first and second examinations was .92. Furthermore, the construct validity scores for pain, stiffness, and physical function were .83, .41, and .58, respectively. CONCLUSION: The application of the WOMAC index in patients who underwent TKR showed high test-retest reliability and internal consistency with the use of the WOMAC index and good validity with the use of the pain assessment scale.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2004

Evidence based physical therapy interventions for this patient was applied in 15 clinical sessions. Considering the patient's two main impairments, two physical therapy interventions were delivered with WOMAC index outcome measurement. From this case report, I observed that a combined physical therapy interventions consisting of manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, and TENS Unit in patients with knee osteoarthritis may result in decreased pain, stiffness and increased physical function.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.317-321
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• 2019

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.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.64-72
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• 2013

Objectives : The aim of this study was to investigate whether warm-needling is more effective than acupuncture in relieving the pain and improving the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis(OA). Methods : 76 volunteers with knee OA participated in the study. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group received warm-needling(n=38), while the other group received acupuncture(n=38). Sixteen sessions of warm-needling or acupuncture were conducted on the pain region of each problematic knee over a period of 8 weeks. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index(WOMAC) scores, physical health score based on the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey(SF-36) and the Global Assessment(PGA) was measured. Results : Compared to the acupuncture group, the warm-needling group showed a significant decrease in pain, function, and total WOMAC scores according to the Mann-Whitney U-test. The PGA scores of the warm-needling group also showed a significant improvement compared to the acupuncture group. Conclusions : Warm-needling showed a greater pain relief effect on knee OA compared to the acupuncture group. These findings suggest that warm-needling may be a promising alternative therapy for treating knee OA.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.195-204
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to report the improvement in patients with knee pain by the instrumentality of needle-embedding therapy. Methods : We treated 5 patients who have a disease related with osteoarthitis of the knee by needle-embedding therapy combined with Korean medical treatment. We checked numeric rating scale(NRS) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities index(WOMAC index). Results : NRS and WOMAC index were decreased at all cases. Conclusions : This study shows needle-embedding therapy has a medical effect when applied on osteoarthritis of the knee.