[Therapeutic effect of exercise acupuncture and osteopathy on traumatic knee arthritis]

To explore the clinical efficacy of exercise acupuncture and osteopathy in the treatment of traumatic knee arthritis.

Fifty-one patients with traumatic knee arthritis were divided into three groups:routine group, exercise acupuncture group and osteopathy group. In the routine group, there were 17 cases, 12 males and 5 females, with a mean age of (49.4±8.9) years old; the averaged course of disease was (4.89±1.52) years; total WOMAC score before treatment was 100.77±15.48. Seventeen patients (11 males and 6 females) in the exercise acupuncture group were aged (48.6±10.1) years old; the course of disease was (4.21±1.37) years; and the total WOMAC score before treatment was 106.16±14.95. In the osteopathy group, there were 17 cases, 8 males and 9 females, with a mean age of (52.3±8.4) years old; the average course of disease was (4.79±1.50) years; total WOMAC score before treatment was 103.87±10.14. The patients in the routine group were treated with routine rehabilitation; the patients in the exercise acupuncture group were treated with routine rehabilitation combined with exercise acupuncture, and the patients in the osteopathy group were treated with osteopathy combined with routine rehabilitation. The changes of WOMAC score and ROM in three groups were compared before treatment and 4 weeks after treatment.

The overall effect of osteopathy group was better than that of routine group (Z=3.151, P=0.005). The scores of WOMAC before and after treatment:pain of 23.84±4.66, 11.98±2.66, stiffness of 10.44±1.71, 6.42±0.74, daily life of 66.49±11.85, 35.80±4.44 in the routine group; pain of 22.64±3.22, 8.90±2.19, stiffness of 11.82±2.57 , 6.03±1.06, daily life of 71.72±13.59, 32.94±4.73 in the exercise acupuncture group; pain of 22.38±3.68, 10.66±2.75, stiffness of 11.81±2.08, 5.63±1.69, daily life of 69.69±8.96, 28.84±5.76 in the osteopathy group. Compared with the other two groups after treatment, the improvement of pain score in the exercise acupuncture group was better than those in the other two groups. There were no significant differences in stiffness score among the three groups. The degree of difficulty in daily life in the osteopathy group was better than that in the other two groups. The total score of WOMAC in the exercise acupuncture group and the osteopathy group were better than that in the conventional group, but there was no significant difference between the two groups.

On the basis of routine rehabilitation treatment, exercise needling and osteopathy have positive significance for the improvement of joint pain and dysfunction of joint movement in patients with traumatic knee arthritis, with certain popularlized value in the treatment of traumatic knee arthritis.