Observation on pain release by long-round needle therapy in knee osteoarthritis related with meridian-sinews theory.

To evaluate the effectiveness of long-round needle therapy for pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis, 192 patients were included in a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial. 97 patients were randomized to the long-round needle therapy group (EG), and 95 patients were randomized to the control group (CG). In EG, the long-round needle therapy was performed once every 7 days for 3 therapy sessions. Ibuprofen sustained-release capsules were administered orally in CG, 1 pill each time, twice daily for 3 weeks. Curative effect was measured after the therapy and was evaluated at a 3-month follow-up interview. In EG, the treatment resulted in a basic cure for 79 patients, was effective for 15 patients, and was ineffective for 1 patient. In CG, the treatment resulted in a basic cure for 30 patients, was effective for 38 patients, and was ineffective for 21 patients. In the follow-up examination in EG, 75 patients were basically cured, and the treatment was effective for 11 patients and ineffective for 9. In CG, 22 were basically cured, 31 found the treatment effective, and 36 found the treatment ineffective. The curative effects in EG after both the treatment and the 3-mouth followup were significantly more superior than that in CG (P < 0.01) which should be adopted more widely.