Objective: To compare clinically therapeutic effects of warming needle moxibustion and simple acupuncture on knee osteoarthritis.
Methods: One hundred and twenty cases conformed with the diagnostic criteria of knee osteoarthritis with TCM kidney-yang deficiency and cold syndrome were randomly divided into a warming needle moxibustion group and a simple acupuncture group. Guanyuan (CV 4), Qihai (CV 6), Zusanli (ST 36) and others were selected in the two groups. Their therapeutic effects were assessed with joint pain scale, knee osteoarthritis severity index scale and cold syndrome differentiation factors.
Results: Both warming needle moxibustion and simple acupuncture could alleviate pain of knee osteoarthritis, improve dysfunction of the knee joint, reduce symptoms. The clinically basic cured rate and the total effective rate were 32.1% and 96.4% in the warming needle moxibustion group, which were better than 7.4% and 92.6% in the simple acupuncture group.
Conclusion: Warming needle moxibustion is an effective therapy for knee osteoarthritis with kidney-yang deficiency and cold type.