Effects of different acupuncture strategies on the prognosis and inflammatory factor levels associated with the treatment of knee osteoarthritis

TL;DR

This study compares different acupuncture methods for knee osteoarthritis, finding that electroacupuncture provides the strongest benefits in reducing pain and improving function.

Contribution

The study empirically compares four acupuncture strategies for knee osteoarthritis, highlighting electroacupuncture's superior effectiveness.

Findings

Electroacupuncture showed the strongest effects on improving physical function and reducing pain.

Warm and fire acupuncture were more effective than traditional acupuncture but less than electroacupuncture.

All acupuncture strategies improved life quality, though with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Abstract

•Acupuncture could improve the physical function and reduce pain of knee.•Acupuncture improving the life quality of patients.•Electroacupuncture showed the strongest effects.

Acupuncture could improve the physical function and reduce pain of knee.

Acupuncture improving the life quality of patients.

Electroacupuncture showed the strongest effects.

Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint condition characterized by the progressive degeneration of knee cartilage. Acupuncture therapy, as an alternative treatment, has shown significant efficacy in managing joint disorders. In the current study, the effects of four acupuncture strategies in treating knee osteoarthritis were compared and analyzed.

123 cases diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis were included in the current study at the First People's Hospital of Jiujiang City from May 2022 to May 2023. The patients received different acupuncture strategies, including traditional acupuncture, electroacupuncture, warm acupuncture, and fire acupuncture. Then the information regarding the treatment effects on physical function and inflammatory cytokines was collected and analyzed.

The data showed that all four treatment strategies could improve the life quality of the patients, but the effects of electroacupuncture were stronger. The effects of warm acupuncture and fire acupuncture were weaker than electroacupuncture, but were stronger than traditional acupuncture. Regarding the effects on knee physical function and inflammatory indicators, electroacupuncture also showed better treatment effects than the other three treatments. The overall efficacy in treating knee osteoarthritis was comparable between different treating strategies, even though the effects of different acupuncture strategies on detailed items might be different.

Collectively, the current study demonstrated that all the acupuncture strategies could improve the physical function and reduce pain in the knee, thereby improving the life quality of patients, with electroacupuncture showing the strongest effects on certain detecting items.

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