Effectiveness of acupuncture with tuina on the knee osteoarthritis – a pilot clinical study

The knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the major causes of disability in adults. The often lack of effectiveness together with the side-effects associated with conventional drugs have made more and more patients to seek treatment for this disease from complementary and alternative medicine. Acupuncture and Tuina massage have been used traditionally in Chinese medicine to treat KOA. This pilot study aims to estimate the efficacy of acupuncture with tuina as a complementary therapy to routine medical care for KOA through clinical observations. The study was carried out in a Chinese medicine clinic of Hertfordshire. Seven patients with KOA diagnosed by their general practitioners and the Chinese medicine practitioner were involved in the study. The patients received 10 sessions treatment of acupuncture with tuina massage over a period of 10 weeks. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were used for the patient to self-score the levels of pain, joint stiffness and functions before the treatment at week 0 and after the treatment at Week 5 and Week 10. Over the period of 10 weeks treatment, continued improvements in the knee conditions of the KOA patients were observed. The scores of all WOMAC subscales and VAS significantly decreased at week 5 and 10 following the treatment of acupuncture with Tuina massage (p< 0.05). When compared with the baseline score before the treatment, the total WOMAC score was reduced nearly 30% at week 5 and 56.48% at week 10 after the treatment. No adverse or side effects were observed during the acupuncture and Tuina treatment. In conclusion, the results from this pilot clinical observation suggest that acupuncture combined with Tuina be a safe and effective treatment for KOA. It deserves further comprehensive studies in this area in the future.