AbstractBackground: Aging is a feminine phenomenon, and the quality of life is less in elderly women than in elderly men due to chronicdiseases being two times more prevalent. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of knee massage on the quality of lifeof elderly women with osteoarthritis.Methods: The present study is a crossover clinical trial of ۵۸ elderly women with mild to moderate osteoarthritis in two interventionand examination classes and two pre-wash and post-wash phases. In the first phase of the study, we gave a massage on each kneeevery day for ۱۵ minutes a week using the effleurage method with standard treatment (diclofenac ۱۰۰ mg), and the control groupreceived only standard treatment. In the second phase, the intervention was shifted into groups according to the study type after۳ weeks of washout. We analyzed the data using SPSS ۲۰ software. Descriptive statistics were used to describe quantitative andqualitative variables, and independent and paired t-tests were used to judge the effect of the intervention. The independent t testwas also used to evaluate the effects of time and treatment.Results: In the first phase of the study, the independent t test results showed no significant difference between the quality of lifescores in the two groups before the intervention (P < ۰.۴۵۲); however, after the intervention, the quality of life was significantlyhigher in group A (the group receiving massage) than in group B (the group receiving standard treatment) (P < ۰.۰۰۱). In the secondphase of the study, the independent t-test results showed no significant difference between the two groups before the intervention(P < ۰.۳۲); however, after the intervention, the quality of life was significantly higher in group B (the group receiving massage in thesecond phase of the study) than in group A (the group receiving standard treatment in the second phase of the study) (P < ۰.۰۰۱).Conclusion: Results showed that conducting one-week massage therapies would enhance the quality of life of women. This findingwas validated based on the sectional design and group replacement results, considering the value of quality of life in the elderly. Asa result, using massage therapy is recommended as a low-risk, low-cost, and non-pharmacological method in old age.
