ABSTRACT
Objective. To compare the effectiveness of virgin coconut oil and mineral oil as an adjunct in the alleviation of pain and improvement of range of motion when used as a coupling medium in therapeutic ultrasound. Methods. A randomized controlled double blind study was conducted in an industrial out-patient clinic in Pasig City. A total of 43 patients with musculotendinous pain were enrolled in the study and were randomized into two groups. The experimental group (n = 20) was given virgin coconut oil (VCO) and the control group (n = 23) was given mineral oil (MO), each used as a coupling medium during therapeutic ultrasound treatment. Four participants were not able to proceed with the study. All patients were given analgesics and/or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications for the duration of the study. All participants underwent baseline evaluation and re-evaluation after three therapy sessions per week for a total of two weeks. The outcome measures used for the study were change in pain scores using the numerical rating scale and change in flexion and extension range of motion of involved joints using goniometric measurement from baseline to second follow-up and third follow-up. The results were analyzed using STATA statistical software with level of significance at p<0.05. Results. Repeated measures ANOVA showed that there were reductions in the pain scores by visits, i.e., from baseline to first follow-up and from first follow-up to second follow-up were marginally significant (p=0.07). However, the difference between VCO and MO in terms of reduction of pain scores in all three visits was not statistically significant (p=0.27). There was no interaction between treatment groups and visits (p=0.34). As to the range of motion of the joints involved, there was statistically significant increase in range of motion noted for extension (p=0.03) as compared with flexion (p=0.07) from baseline to first follow-up. There were no reported adverse effects from the use of VCO and MO, physical therapy program and pain medications in both groups. Conclusion. The use of virgin coconut oil is a relatively safe and well-tolerated coupling medium in therapeutic ultrasound. Virgin coconut oil was shown to be seemingly more effective as mineral oil in terms of the reduction of pain and more effective in improvement of flexion and extension range of motion of affected joint.