Efficacy of Different Acupuncture Techniques for Pain and Dysfunction in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Chronic pain and joint functional disability are the main symptoms that occur in patients with knee osteoarthritis and decrease their quality of life. As a non-pharmacological treatment, acupuncture, a traditional complementary therapy originating in China, is an effective therapy for pain control and addressing knee-related disorders in the clinic. However, the efficiency of various acupuncture techniques in treating diseases is different. The purpose of this trial was to investigate whether acupuncture techniques were more effective at controlling pain and physical dysfunction than sham acupuncture or drug treatment and to determine the differences in efficacy among them. The participants experienced different acupuncture technique treatments, including manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, warm-needling acupuncture, and mild moxibustion. The control treatments included sham acupuncture and drug treatment with Celebrex. We measured changes in pain perception via visual analog scale scores and physical dysfunction via physical function scores from the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. Compared with sham acupuncture, the observed acupuncture techniques were effective for treating joint pain and dysfunction in patients with knee osteoarthritis. We compared the efficiency of different acupuncture techniques and reported that electroacupuncture was the most effective at alleviating pain intensity. Moreover, we compared the efficiency of electroacupuncture with that of Celebrex administration. The results revealed that electroacupuncture had an advantage over drug treatment. This finding could provide sufficient evidence that demonstrates the disparity in the efficacy of acupuncture techniques and could lead to proper acupuncture therapy for treating knee osteoarthritis.