Clinical Effects of Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Treating Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective: To observe the effects of acupuncture and moxibustion in treating knee osteoarthritis(KOA).Methods: Ninety-three patients with KOA were randomly divided into moxibustion group(n=36),electroacupuncture group(n=36) and Celebrex group(n=21).The moxibustion group was treated with moxibustion at Shenque(CV 8),Neixiyan(EX-LE 4),Waixiyan(EX-LE 5),Xuehai(SP 10) and Liangqiu(ST 34),the electroacupuncture group was treated with electroacupuncture at Neixiyan(EX-LE 4),Waixiyan(EX-LE 5),Xuehai(SP 10) and Liangqiu(ST 34),and the Celebrex group was treated with Celebrex,with a course of 28 days.The visual analogue scale(VAS) score of knee-joint pain and knee-joint function score were observed.Results: Seven days,fourteen days and twenty-eight days after treatment,the VAS scores of knee-joint pain were obviously decreased in the three groups(P0.05,P0.01),and twenty-eight days after treatment,the VAS scores of Celebrex group were lower than those of moxibustion group and electroacupuncture group(P0.05).Seven days,fourteen days and twenty-eight days after treatment,the knee-joint function scores were markedly increased in the three groups(P0.05,P0.01),and twenty-eight days after treatment,the knee-joint function scores of moxibustion group and electroacupuncture group were higher than those of Celebrex group(P0.05).Conclusion: Moxibustion therapy,electroacupuncture therapy and Celebrex can improve the clinical symptoms and the knee-joint function in patients with KOA.