Effect of oblique insertion at ashi point with long needle on joint function in female patients with knee osteoarthritis of early and middle stages

Abstract

To compare the improvement of joint function in female patients with early-middle-stage knee osteoarthritis (KOA) treated by oblique insertion at ashi point with long needle and oral celecoxib capsule. A total of 105 female patients with early-middle-stage KOA were randomly divided into an observation group (65 cases, 6 cases dropped out, 3 cases were discontinued) and a control group (40 cases, 6 cases dropped out, 2 cases were discontinued). Patients in the observation group were treated with oblique insertion at ashi point (hard knots of quadriceps femoris, hamstring muscle, popliteal muscle, etc.) with long needle, once every other 3 days, twice a week, for a total of 2 weeks. Patients in the control group were treated with oral celecoxib capsules, 0.2 g each time, once a day for 2 weeks. Both groups started functional exercise after 2 weeks of treatment. The joint function score of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) and pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score of the two groups were observed before and after treatment and after 6 weeks of treatment completion (follow-up), the 12-item short-form health survey (SF-12) score was compared between the two groups before treatment and in follow-up, and the safety of the two groups was evaluated. After treatment and during the follow-up, the joint function scores of WOMAC and VAS scores of the two groups were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). During the follow-up, the joint function scores of WOMAC and VAS scores were lower than those after treatment (P<0.05), and the SF-12 scores were higher than those before treatment (P<0.05) in the two groups. After treatment, the joint function score of WOMAC of the observation group was lower and the VAS score was higher than those of the control group (P<0.001, P<0.01). During the follow-up, the SF-12 score of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). No serious adverse reactions occurred in both groups. The treatment of oblique insertion at ashi point with long needle can improve the knee joint function and quality of life of female patients with early-middle-staqe KOA, which is better than oral celecoxib capsule.