A Clinical Controlled Study Of Different Acupuncture Depths In The Treatment Of Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective and SignificanceKnee osteoarthritis(KO A)is a disease clinically characterized by knee joint pain,stiffness and dysfunction of joint movement.It is a degenerative osteoarthrosis.Currently,its etiology and pathogenesis are not completely clear,and there are no specific drugs or therapies for clinical treatment.At present,it is a frequently-occurring disease and common disease among the elderly,and its incidence rate shows a gradual increasing trend with age.The disease brings great pain to patients,negatively impacting quality of life in a serious manner.It can lead to patients losing the ability to work,and even lead to disability.Acupuncture has a long history of research and treatment for this disease,with definite curative effects and very few side effects,the practice of which has been accepted by more and more people.The depth of acupuncture is one of the important factors influencing the effectiveness of the treatment,and depth is also a crucial aspect of the relationship between the acupuncture quantity-effect.Starting from Huangdi Neijing and continuing to later generations of physicians,there have been various discussions on this topic.However,no complete system has been formed.The theory of acupuncture manipulation quantification put forward by Academician Shi Xuemin pioneered research on the complete theory of the acupuncture quantity-effect relationship,and made an optimization study on the four major factors of acupuncture,namely,the direction of force,the magnitude of manipulation force and the duration and interval between acupuncture times.However,the study did not look at the depth of acupuncture.Research on the depth of acupuncture still needs the joint efforts and perfection of modern physicians.No systematic theoretical and clinical research exists on the optimal acupuncture depth for acupuncture treatment of this disease.In the process of clinical practice observation,it has been found that the therapeutic effect of using deep needles to treat this disease may be more effective than conventional needle depth.Through clinical randomized controlled trials,this paper compares the clinical therapeutic effect difference between the deep needling method and the conventional needling method in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis,with the aim to obtain the optimal needling depth for needle treatment of this disease and contribute to its clinical treatment.Additionally,this study aims to aid research on needling depth in the field of the acupuncture quantity-effect relationship.Research MethodsIn this study,the randomized controlled trial(RCT)method was used to divide 60 patients who met the inclusion criteria into the experimental group and the control group by random number table method.The two groups of patients received treatment 20 times with SP(10),ST(34),SP(9),GB(33),ST(36),LR(8),GB(33)and Ashi point around the knee joint.The acupuncture depth of the experimental group was 40-50 mm,while the acupuncture depth of the control group was 20-30 mm.Before and after treatment and four weeks after treatment,the Visual Analogus Scale(VAS)and WOMAC(the Western Ontario and McMaster Index)were scored respectively,and the clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated according to knee osteoarthritis efficacy indicators in the diagnosis of clinical diseases and syndromes of traditional Chinese medicine.The data were collated and statistically processed to observe the clinical efficacy of the two groups.Research ResultsThe results of this study are as follows:1.The VAS scores of the two groups significantly decreased after acupuncture treatment(P<0.01).the total WOMAC score of each group,as well as WOMAC pain,stiffness and joint activity scores decreased significantly(P<0.01).2.The VAS scores of the two groups significantly decreased four weeks after acupuncture treatment(P<0.01).the total WOMAC score of each group,as well as WOMAC pain,stiffness and joint activity scores decreased significantly(P<0.01).3.There was no significant difference in VAS scores between the two groups after treatment(P>0.05),suggesting that the two methods have the same degree of pain relief effectiveness for knee osteoarthritis patients.After treatment,there was no statistical difference in the total score on the WOMAC scale between the two groups(P>0.05).Further analysis was made on the scores of each section.There was no statistical difference in the scores of the pain section of the WOMAC scale(P>0.05).There was statistical difference in the scores of the stiffness and joint function sections of WOMAC scale(P<0.05).4.There was statistical difference in VAS scores between the two groups four weeks after treatment(P<0.05).Four weeks after treatment,there was statistical difference in the total score on the WOMAC scale between the two groups(P<0.05).Further analysis was made on the scores of each section.There was no statistical difference in the scores of the pain section of the WOMAC scale(P>0.05).There was statistical difference in the scores of the stiffness and joint function sections of WOMAC scale(P<0.05).5.In comparing the curative effect evaluation of the two groups of patients after treatment,the total effective rate of the experimental group reached 96.67%.The total effective rate among the control group reached 93.10%,showing a statistically significant difference(P>0.05).Conclusion and SignificanceThrough this study,the following conclusions have been reached:Both deep needling and conventional deep needling can bring obvious improvements to the clinical symptoms of knee joint pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis,and possess positive clinical effects.Deep needling is more effective than conventional needling in improving joint stiffness and joint function in patients with knee osteoarthritis;there are more advantages in the long-term treatment effect in deep needling.Deep needling has a higher clinical effective rate and a more obvious success rate than conventional needling,suggesting that the deep needling method possesses better clinical effects.Data from this study show that both deep needling and conventional needling can effectively relieve knee joint pain,but deep needling can better improve joint stiffness and joint function among patients suffering from gonarthritis,and it has better long-term effect.It can also improve clinical efficacy,and can be widely clinically applied.