ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare therapeutic effects of superficial needling and body acupuncture on knee joint pain.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety-six cases of knee joint pain were randomly divided into a treatment group of 48 cases treated with superficial needling, and a control group of 48 cases treated with body acupuncture.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The cured rate was 66.7% in the treatment group and 39.6% in the control group with a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.01). The total effective rate was 100.0% in both the two groups. The needed therapeutic times of superficial needling was significantly less than that of the body acupuncture (P< 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Superficial needling has a good therapeutic effect on knee joint pain with a shorter therapeutic course.</p>