Abstract:

Objective To evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of Nu ⁃based acupuncture therapy in treating knee osteoarthritis（i.e. cold arthralgia in Chinese medicine and cold bone wind in Miao medicine）. Methods Randomized，multicenter and parallel controlled clinical research method was used. A total of 297 cases included in each clinical center according to the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into treatment group， placebo group and acupuncture group. In the treatment group，5 ~ 6 acupoints in the patients were selected according to the symptoms，and they were massaged according to kneading method and point pressing method after the Nu solution was daubed among the knee joint. When the patients felt that the knee joint was hot for 10 ~ 15 minutes， the acupoints were pricked with sterile plum⁃blossom needle dipped in Nu solution，3 ~ 5 times for each acupoint， followed by bamboo cupping for 10 ~ 15 minutes. The placebo control group was treated with placebo instead of Nu solution，and the standard for selecting acupoints and manipulation methods were the same as in the treatment group. The acupuncture control group was given routine acupuncture at other acupoints ，moxibustion or warm acupuncture. The course of treatment was 10 days. Clinical efficacy，VAS score of knee pain，improvement rate of main clinical symptoms，change of onset time，disappearance time，safety index and WOMAC score were observed across the two groups. Results The cure rate，marked effective rate and total effective rate of the treatment group were all significantly higher than the placebo and acupuncture groups（18.33%，0，15.25%；59.16%，1.47%， 50.84%；83.33%，19.12%，82.76%，P < 0.05）. The VAS scores of knee pain in the three groups were significantly different before and after treatment（P < 0.05）. After treatment，the improvement rate and disappearance time of main clinical symptoms such as rest pain，morning stiffness，walking pain and standing pain were significantly different between groups（P < 0.05）. Compared with placebo group and acupuncture group，the WOC score of the treatment group was significantly different（P < 0.05）. No adverse reactions in the treatment group were found. Conclusion Nu⁃based acupuncture therapy is safe and effective in treating knee osteoarthritis.

Key words:

knee osteoarthritis, cold arthralgia, cold bone wind, acupuncture and moxibustion, Nu?based acupuncture therapy