Clinical experience of JIAO Lin in treatment of knee osteoarthritis with manual mobilization of meridian muscle regions

Abstract

The paper introduces JIAO Lin's clinical experience in treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) by manual mobilization of meridian muscle regions. Professor JIAO Lin believes that the key to the occurrence and development of KOA lies in the disorder of meridian muscle regions (sinews/fascia). In pathology, four stages are divided, i.e. the acute stage, the blockage stage, the contraction stage and the atrophy stage of muscle regions, characterized as multi-layer, multi-dimensional and multi-morphological distribution. In treatment, based on the principle, "taking pain sites as stimulating points", the sites, with reduced pain threshold and distributed along the meridian muscle regions, are regarded as "acupoints" for intervention. Manual mobilization of meridian muscle regions is the dominant approach, combined with routine acupuncture, heat-sensitive moxibustion, cupping and bloodletting corresponding to the features of syndromes and meridian manifestation at different stages. The comprehensive treatment may restore and reconstruct the physiological functions of the meridian muscle regions around knee joints by "nourishing tendons, strengthening bones and benefiting joints".