Warm needling moxibustion plus functional exercises for knee osteoarthritis

Objective

To observe the clinical efficacy of warm needling moxibustion plus functional exercises in treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA).

Methods

Totally 108 eligible KOA patients were intervened by warm needling moxibustion plus functional exercises. The warm needling moxibustion was given 3 times a week, successively for 4 weeks. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was adopted to evaluate the pain intensity of the knee joint. After 4-week treatment, the change of VAS score, range of motion (ROM) of knee, and Lysholm score were observed, and the clinical efficacy was also estimated.

Results

After treatment, the VAS score dropped obviously, and the ROM and Lysholm score increased markedly; the total effective rate was 83.3%.

Conclusion

Warm needling moxibustion plus functional exercises is effective in treating KOA, as it can relieve the knee joint pain and improve the joint motion.