Effect of balance diet versus low carb diet in improving pain in knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Knee OA is one of the most standard arthritic maladies that affect the lives of most patients suffering from this ailment. Pain management and functional limitation in patients with knee OA poses a significant problem. Although there are many treatments for osteoporosis, dietary intervention is very important for patients suffering from the disease. It was, therefore, conducted with the objective of establishing the impact of an improved nutrient balanced diet (NBD) and an alternate low carbohydrate (low-carb) diet on the functional disability and pain perception in patients with knee OA. The participants consisted of 20 individuals within the age range of 30-60 years with the diagnosis of knee OA who complained of knee pain for at least six months. The subjects were divided into two groups on a completely random basis. Group A was given a low carbohydrate diet in addition to conventional treatment; IFT, hot pack and resistance exercises while Group B was given a normal diet in addition to the treatment modalities mentioned above. The Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) was applied to measure the baseline and post-intervention pain. So, it is has been found that there have been lessening of pain and increase in the functional range in both the groups, but the group which followed the low carbohydrate diet were slightly more benefited in terms of pain relief. Analysis of t-tests showed that both types of interventions were beneficial, and intra-group comparisons revealed a decrease of pain after the treatment. Thus, it is possible to argue that dietary measures, with an emphasis on low-carb diets, can be useful as an adjunct treatment for patients with knee OA and impaired functional mobility.