Knee Osteoarthritis
Conditions
Keywords
Knee osteoarthritis, acupuncture, electroacupuncture, sham acupuncture
Brief summary
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA), also called degenerative knee disease, is one of the most common bone and joint diseases in clinic. It was estimated to affect more than 9 million individuals in the United States in 2005 and is a leading cause of disability and medical costs. Most elderly people over the age of 65 have radiographic and/or clinical evidence of osteoarthritis. KOA is a lifelong disease which can lead to obvious pain, joint stiffness, limitation of activity and even joint failure or disability. Acupuncture is a popular treatment taken from ancient Chinese medicine, in which fine needles are placed into the body at specific points. Studies have shown that acupuncture can stimulate nerves under the skin, causing the body to produce natural pain-relieving substances (endorphins). However the evidences of acupuncture for KOA are contradictory. According to the review, intensive acupuncture with three sessions a week is more effective for KOA than sparse acupuncture with one session a week. Moreover, the papers published in the past years suggest that manual acupuncture and electro-acupuncture are most commonly used acupuncture therapy for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of intensive electro-acupuncture or manual acupuncture versus sham acupuncture in reducing pain and improving function in patients with KOA.
Interventions
OTHERacupuncture
acupuncture is a therapy of traditional Chinese medicine，in which acupuncturist puncture the patient's skin at specific acupoints with needle.
Sponsors
Beijing science and technology commission
Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Acupuncturist (Electro-acupuncture group and Manual acupuncture group), Participant, Outcome Assessor
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
45 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. Age 45-75 years old, male or female 2. Single / bilateral knee pain, duration of more than 6 months 3. KL (Kellgren-Lawrence) grade Ⅱ or Ⅲ 4. NRS ≥ 4
Exclusion criteria
1. Surgery history of knee or waiting for surgery (knee replacement or knee arthroscopy) 2. Knee pain caused by other diseases (such as joint bodies, severe effusion of joint cavity, infection, malignant tumors, autoimmune diseases, trauma, fracture, gout, lumbosacral vertebrae disease, etc.) 3. History of arthroscopy within 1 year or intra-articular injection within 4 months 4. History of receiving acupuncture or massage treatment within 3 months 5. Severe acute/chronic organic or mental diseases 6. Coagulation disorders (such as hemophilia, etc.) 7. Cardiac pacemaker, metal allergy or needle phobia 8. Pregnant women, pregnant and lactating women 9. Participation in another clinical study in the past 3 months
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Response rate | 8 weeks | the percentage of patients with improvement in average pain (numerical rating scale, NRS) at least 2 units and in Western Ontario and Mcmaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) function subscale score at least 6 units at 8 weeks. Pain NRS was a self-administered instrument, a number selected from 0-10 by participant. Intensity of pain range (over past week): 0 =no pain to 10 =worst possible pain. Higher score indicating severe pain. The WOMAC function subscale referred to the participant's ability to move around and perform usual activities of daily living. The WOMAC function subscale was comprised of 17 questions regarding the degree of difficulty experienced due to OA in the study knee. The WOMAC function subscale score for each question ranged from 0 (minimum) to 4 (maximum), higher scores signified worse physical function. An overall score range of 0 (minimum) to 68 (maximum), with higher scores indicating worse physical function. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Knee-joint pain | baseline, 8 weeks, 16 weeks and 26 weeks | using numerical rating scale (NRS). NRS was a self-administered instrument, a number selected from 0-10 by participant. Intensity of pain range (over past week): 0 =no pain to 10 =worst possible pain. Higher score indicating severe pain. |
| Knee-joint function | baseline, 8 weeks, 16 weeks and 26 weeks | using WOMAC function subscale. The WOMAC function subscale referred to the participant's ability to move around and perform usual activities of daily living. The WOMAC function subscale was comprised of 17 questions regarding the degree of difficulty experienced due to OA in the study knee. The WOMAC function subscale score for each question ranged from 0 (minimum) to 4 (maximum), higher scores signified worse physical function. An overall score range of 0 (minimum) to 68 (maximum), with higher scores indicating worse physical function. |
| Knee-joint stiffness | baseline, 8 weeks, 16 weeks and 26 weeks | using WOMAC stiffness subscale. The WOMAC stiffness subscale was comprised of 2 questions regarding the degree of stiffness experienced in the study knee. The WOMAC stiffness subscale score for each question ranged from 0 (minimum) to 4 (maximum), higher scores signified worse stiffness. An overall score range of 0 (minimum) to 8 (maximum), with higher scores indicating more stiffness. |
| Quality of life | baseline, 8 weeks, 16 weeks and 26 weeks | using 12-Item Short Form Health Survey. An overall score range of 0 (minimum) to 100(maximum), with higher scores indicating better quality of life. |
| Response rate | 16 weeks, 26 weeks | the percentage of patients with improvement in average pain (numerical rating scale, NRS) at least 2 units and in Western Ontario and Mcmaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) function subscale score at least 6 units at 16 and 26 weeks. Pain NRS was a self-administered instrument, a number selected from 0-10 by participant. Intensity of pain range (over past week): 0 =no pain to 10 =worst possible pain. Higher score indicating severe pain. The WOMAC function subscale referred to the participant's ability to move around and perform usual activities of daily living. The WOMAC function subscale was comprised of 17 questions regarding the degree of difficulty experienced due to OA in the study knee. The WOMAC function subscale score for each question ranged from 0 (minimum) to 4 (maximum), higher scores signified worse physical function. An overall score range of 0 (minimum) to 68 (maximum), with higher scores indicating worse physical function. |
| Expectancy score | 1 week（after the first treatment） | using Credibility/expectancy questionnaire |
| Blinding assessment | 4 weeks and 8 weeks | Blinding assessment will be performed in all 9 centers |
| Global effect | 8 weeks, 16 weeks and 26 weeks | Overall Treatment Effect (extremely improved, slightly improved, not changed, slightly aggravated, extremely aggravated) |
| Adverse events | first treatment up to 8 weeks | Adverse Event Form |
| Credibility score | 1 week（after the first treatment） | using Credibility/expectancy questionnaire |
Countries
China
Contacts
Primary ContactCun-Zhi Liu
Backup ContactJian-Feng Tu
Outcome results
None listed