Clinical study on treatment of 40 cases of knee osteoarthritis with acupotomy combined sodium hyaluronate

Objective To observe clinical efficacy of acupotomy combined with sodium hyaluronate in the treatment of early and middle stage knee osteoarthritis. Methods A randomized controlled clinical research method was used to assigned 80 cases of grade 1 to 3 knee osteoarthritis confirmed by X-ray randomly into experimental group and control group with 40 cases in each group.There were 99 knees,including 61 unilateral knee and 19 bilateral knees.The control was given intra-articular injections of sodium hyaluronate,one time a week for 5 weeks,while the experimental was given acupotomy combined with sodium hyaluronate injections.3-5 pain points were chosen for acupotomy one time a week,total one to three times according to the condition.Lequesne index of severity and disease activity were used to assess the efficacy before and after the treatment in both groups.The adverse reactions were also recorded. Results After the treatment of five weeks,the Lequesne’s score decreased to 7.93±8.31 in the experimental group and 12.47±8.25 in the control group,the symptoms of both groups were relieved.The total effective rate was 92.5% in the experimental group,and 75% in the control group(χ²=4.501,P＜0.05),there was statistical significance.No adverse reactions occurred in the two groups. Conclusion Acupotomy combined with intra-articular injections of sodium hyaluronate in the treatment of early and middle stage knee osteoarthritis is effective with few side effects,and can be popularized in hospitals of various levels.