THE EFFECT OF WARM COMPRESSES ON REDUCING PAIN LEVELS IN LOW BACK PAIN PATIENTS AT THE NERVE OUTPATIENT SANTOSA BANDUNG CENTRAL HOSPITAL

Abstract

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the musculoskeletal disorders as a result of incorrect ergonomics. Disorders that occur due to low back pain, namely pain that often occurs is acute which radiates to the buttocks and one thigh. Pain management can be done with 2 techniques, namely pharmacological (drugs) and non-pharmacological (without drugs), one of which is warm compress therapy which aims to accelerate blood circulation and reduce pain until the patient feels comfortable. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of giving warm compresses to reducing pain levels in low back pain patients at the Neuro Clinic of Santosa Hospital, Bandung Central in 2022.

The type of research used is experimental with a one group pretest-posttest design. The research sample used consecutive sampling as many as 60 outpatient low back pain patients. The instrument used is the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Data were analyzed by statistical test dependent t-test.

The results showed that the average level of pain before being given a warm compress was 7.23 (controlled severe pain), and afterward an average of 5.05 (moderate pain). There is the provision of warm compresses to reduce pain levels in patients with low back pain (p = 0.000) with an average difference of 2.183.

The results of this study are expected that the hospital considers giving warm compresses as non-pharmacological therapy to reduce pain levels in low back pain patients.

 Keywords: Warm Compress, One Group Pretest-Posttest Design, Low Back Pain, Pain Level