Sarcopenia with Chronic Knee Pain
Conditions
Interventions
Tuina Group:Combined Traditional Chinese Medicine Tuina therapy with standardized basic intervention (nutritional support and resistance training)
Control Group:Standardized basic intervention including dietary nutritional guidance and progressive resistance training for lower limb muscle groups
Sponsors
Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
50 Years to 100 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1.Age = 50 years. 2.Meeting the diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia: decreased muscle strength (handgrip strength: < 28 kg for males, < 18 kg for females) or decreased physical performance (6m gait speed: < 1.0 m/s), accompanied by decreased muscle mass (appendicular skeletal muscle index measured by DXA: < 7.0 kg/m² for males, < 5.4 kg/m² for females). 3.Complicated with chronic knee pain: recurrent knee joint pain within the past 3 months with a VAS score = 3. 4.Baseline nutritional status: Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form (MNA-SF) score = 8. 5.Meeting the requirements for MRI scanning with no contraindications to MRI. 6.Voluntary participation in the study with a signed informed consent form.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Presence of specific underlying causes of chronic knee pain (such as inflammatory or autoimmune arthropathies including rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and ankylosing spondylitis; a history of definite acute structural injury to the knee within the past 6 months, such as acute meniscus tear, ligament rupture, or lower extremity fracture; or severe lumbar spine disorders causing significant radiating lower limb pain that masks local knee pain) ; patients with severe malnutrition (MNA-SF score = 7) or advanced stages of chronic wasting diseases (such as advanced malignancies, severe cardiac or renal insufficiency, and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) ; severe obesity (BMI = 35 kg/m²) ; definite central or peripheral neuromuscular diseases (such as Parkinson's disease, post-stroke hemiplegia sequelae), severe psychiatric disorders, or significant cognitive impairment rendering the patient unable to cooperate with treatment and evaluation ; regular systemic use of medications potentially affecting muscle metabolism (such as long-term oral glucocorticoids, androgens, etc.) within 3 months prior to enrollment, or local intra-articular injection in the affected knee within the past 3 months, or planning to undergo knee surgery during the study period ; presence of contraindications to cranial MRI scanning (such as pacemakers, cochlear implants, aneurysm clips, or other ferromagnetic metallic implants, or claustrophobia that prevents tolerating the scan).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) total score; | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score;Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC);Clinical physical performance and muscle strength (6m gait speed, 5-times chair stand test, and handgrip strength);Muscle mass assessment by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA);12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) score;Central brain network features measured by resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI);Irisin;Myostatin;IL-6;C-Reactive Protein (CRP); | — |
Countries
China
Contacts
Public ContactFang Min
Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Outcome results
None listed