Osteoarthritis is very common now a day. In Bangladesh incidence and prevalence of osteoarthritis is increasing day by day as ageing process makes life longer. In this study investigator tried to measure role of physiotherapy in osteoarthritis patients attending for treatment in a physiotherapy center. Cross sectional observational study was conducted. Eighty respondents were selected by simple random sampling technique. Data collection was conducted by face to face interview with semi-structured questionnaire. Satisfactory level was determined into mild satisfactory, moderate satisfactory, fully satisfactory by prefixed score. Almost 43.5% respondents were completely satisfied followed by 37.5% moderately satisfied and 18.8% mildly satisfied. Level of satisfaction increases with age.

Physiotherapy is the most effective treatment for osteoarthritis. In Physiotherapy, manual mobility of the affected joint, Ice therapy, Ultrasound therapy, IRR is the major treatment for OA. A physiotherapist will conduct a series of clinical tests to diagnose the extent of patient condition. In some cases, an X-ray may be taken to confirm the diagnosis. Once this thorough assessment has been completed, physiotherapist will work with patient to create a treatment plan and establish management goals.1 Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease which major treatment is physiotherapy. Osteoarthritis is a type of joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone.2 That is why it is very important to know about the satisfaction level of OA patient to improve treatment quality.

It was descriptive cross sectional study. Study was conducted among entire osteoarthritic patient treated in a specialized physiotherapy center. Sample size was 80 persons with osteoarthritis. Simple random sampling technique was followed in this study. By lottery method 80 respondents selected from entire population. With semi-structured questionnaire face to face interview was followed for data collection. Respondent willingly answered all the questions to researcher. All the collected data properly organized and processed with SPSS. Then frequency analysis for all the variables had done properly. Chi-square analysis had done with cross tabulation for socio-demographic and level of satisfaction. Level of satisfaction was determined with predetermined 10 structured questions with three satisfactory levels. Satisfactory levels were mild satisfactory, moderate satisfactory, fully satisfactory. Average score of the entire 10 questions was the main level of satisfaction.

Almost 43.5% respondents were completely satisfied followed by 37.5% moderately satisfied and 18.8% mildly satisfied.

Figure I: Distribution of the respondents according to level of satisfaction

Age of the respondent positively associated with level of satisfaction that means if age increase level of satisfaction also increases. Education of the respondent negatively associated with level of satisfaction that means if education increase then level of satisfaction also reduces.

Table I: Association between Age, Education of the respondent and Level of satisfaction

In this study among all the respondent’s male was 76% and female was 24%. Ratio between male and female was almost 3:1. Therefore, we can say male was in riskier position for being osteoarthritic. Changes in sex hormone levels may play a role in the development of OA as it is more prevalent among post-menopausal women than among men of the same age.3 The prevalence of arthralgia increases in women with menopausal transition and is thought to be due to reduction of estrogen levels.4 A study of mice found natural female hormones to be protective while injections of the male hormone dihydrotestosterone reduced protection.5 After 40 years of age calcium deposition takes place almost all the individual. If sufficient calcium supplement has not taken by individual, then osteophytic change of the bone might be occurred which lead to OA.  Near about 35% respondents chronological age was between 40 to 60 years as well as age had the positive association with the level of satisfaction. Aged or elderly people may fall in OA higher than younger. They need physiotherapy treatment mostly as it has less or no side effect. As a government organization all the PSOSK provides better physiotherapy treatment for OA patient especially in elderly. That is why level of satisfaction increased with the increase of age of the respondent according to this study. The present study found that 43.5% respondents were completely satisfied followed by 37.5% moderately satisfied and 18.8% mildly satisfied. To assess patient satisfaction with exercise for knee osteoarthritis (OA) a RCT study was conducted and found that high levels of satisfaction were reported of knee OA patients participating in an RCT evaluating the effects of different exercise approaches for knee OA. Satisfaction varied depending on the satisfaction domain, with lower satisfaction with outcome compared with other aspects of care.6 Weight loss can be achieved and sustained over a 6-month period in a cohort of older obese persons with osteoarthritis of the knee through a dietary and exercise intervention. Both exercise and combined weight loss and exercise regimens lead to improvements in pain, disability, and performance. Moreover, the trends in the biomechanical data suggest that exercise combined with diet may have an additional benefit in improved gait compared with exercise alone. A larger study is indicated to determine if weight loss provides additional benefits to exercise alone in this patient population.7 According to this study almost 55% respondents have no educational qualification that means they are illiterate. Therefore, they are poorly known about their degenerative change which occurs after 40 years of age. That is why, they are more suffer from OA than others. Better education makes a man more conscious about treatment program for this their satisfactory level comparatively low than other respondents. In this study most of the respondent was unemployed which is about 80%. It also affected their family income most of the respondent family income was below 3000/- taka. Illiterate and unemployed persons with disability have less seeking behavior to rehabilitation than educated and employed persons with disability. That is why level of satisfaction increased with decreased of the educational level according to this study. Unemployment and poor family income are also major problem for Bangladesh. It directly effects on health directed behavior which is very essential for prevent and control of non-communicable disease like Osteoarthritis. Poor family status also important for preserve and restore individual health. In private hospital physiotherapy treatment is more expensive. Therefore, most people prefer physiotherapy treatment. In case of osteoarthritis early diagnosis and early treatment is more effective. Otherwise it might lead to disability.

Below half of the respondents were fully satisfied on physiotherapy services. Age of the respondent positively associated with level of satisfaction. Education of the respondent negatively associated with level of satisfaction. Need further depth qualitative research.