Yang Xiao-Chu, He Shao-Feng, Wang Ren-Can, Zhou Yong-Mei
Xinchang County Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Xinchang 312500, Zhejiang Province, China.
Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2012 Jun;37(3):237-41.
To observe the therapeutic effect of thermal acupuncture needle muscular stimulation for treatment of knee osteoarthritis patients.
A total of 120 outpatients with knee osteoarthritis were randomly and equally divided into control and treatment groups. Patients of the treatment group were treated by inserting the acupuncture needles into the attached sites of the quadriceps femoris, musculus vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, etc. around the knee joint. The needles were manipulated repeately till "Deqi", followed by attaching a piece of ignited moxa-roll (about 2 cm length) to the needle handle. The treatment was conducted once a week, 4 weeks altogether. Patients of the control group were treated by oral administration of Celebrex (a specific inhibitor of COX-2, 200 mg/time, once daily, 4 weeks together). The therapeutic effect was evaluated by using visual analogue scale (VAS), Lequesne Index (Chinese Version) of osteoarthritis after 4 weeks' treatment and 3 months after the treatment.
After 4 weeks' treatment and 3 months after the treatment, the effective rates were 78.3% (47/60) and 81.7% (49/60) in the control group, and 96.6% (58/60) and 96.6% (58/60) in the treatment group, respectively, being significantly higher in the treatment group (P<0.05). Both VAS scores and Lequesne Indexes in the treatment group, and VAS scores in the control group were decreased significantly after 4 weeks' treatment and 3 months' follow-up (P<0.05). The effects of the treatment group were considerably superior to those of the control group (P<0.05).
Thermal needle muscular stimulation therapy is effective for relieving knee osteoarthritis patients' symptoms of pain, knee-joint stiffness, swelling, walking capability, etc.
观察温针肌肉刺激疗法治疗膝骨关节炎患者的疗效。
将120例膝骨关节炎门诊患者随机等分为对照组和治疗组。治疗组患者将针灸针插入膝关节周围股四头肌、股内侧肌、股外侧肌等附着部位，行针得气后，在针柄上附着一段点燃的艾条（约2cm长）。每周治疗1次，共治疗4周。对照组患者口服塞来昔布（COX-2特异性抑制剂，200mg/次，每日1次，共治疗4周）。于治疗4周后及治疗后3个月采用视觉模拟评分法（VAS）、骨关节炎Lequesne指数（中文版）评价疗效。
治疗4周后及治疗后3个月，对照组有效率分别为78.3%（47/60）和81.7%（49/60），治疗组有效率分别为96.6%（58/60）和96.6%（58/60），治疗组有效率显著高于对照组（P<0.05）。治疗4周后及随访3个月后，治疗组VAS评分、Lequesne指数及对照组VAS评分均显著降低（P<0.05）。治疗组疗效明显优于对照组（P<0.05）。
温针肌肉刺激疗法能有效缓解膝骨关节炎患者的疼痛、膝关节僵硬、肿胀、行走能力等症状。
