[Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis with Acupuncture plus Intra-articular Injection of Sodium Hyaluronate].

Objective: To examine the clinical benefits of acupuncture combined with intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients.

Methods: A total of 150 KOA patients were randomized into simple medication and acupuncture plus medication (combined treatment) groups (＝75 in each). For all the patients, intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate (2 mL) was performed once a week for 5 weeks, and for patients of the combined treatment group, filiform needles were separately inserted into unilateral or bilateral Zusanli (ST 36), Liangqiu (ST 34), Yanglingquan (GB 34), Yinlingquan (SP 9), Xiyangguan (GB 33), Dubi (ST 35), Neixiyan (EX-LE 4) and Xuehai (SP 10) according to the focus, and manipulated with the uniform reinforcing and reducing technique, followed by retaining the needles for 30 min. The acupuncture treatment was given once every day or every other day, 5 weeks in total. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the pain severity of knee-joint, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) employed to assess the 1) pain severity during various positions or movements (20 points), 2) severity of joint stiffness (8 points), and 3) difficulty in performing daily functional activities (68 points). The therapeutic effect was evaluated according to the decreased level of WOMAC subscale scores and improvement of daily activities.

Results: After the treatment, the VAS scores of both medication and combined treatment groups were decreased significantly in comparison with their own pre-treatment in each group (<0.05), and that of the combined treatment group was significantly lower than that of the medication group (<0.05). WOMAC and daily activity fin-dings showed that of the two 75 KOA patients in the medication and combined treatment groups, 16 (21.33%) and 32 (42.67%) experienced marked improvement, 46 (61.33%) and 38 (50.67%) were improved, and 13 (17.33%) and 5 (6.67%) ineffective, with the total effective rates being 82.67% and 93.33%, respectively. The therapeutic effect of the combined treatment group was apparently superior to that of the simple medication group (<0.05).

Conclusion: Acupuncture combined with intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate is effective in improving KOA patients' pain severity and other symptoms as well as functional activities.