ABSTRACT
Objective:To observe the clinical effect of acupuncture combined with Medical Training Therapy (MTT) for Functional ankle instability (FAI).Methods:A total of 72 patients, who met the inclusion criteria of FAI, from January 2018 to June 2019, were selected and randomly divided them into 4 groups: Combination group (CG), MTT group (MTT), Acupuncture group (ACU) and Control group (Ctrl). Intervention of groups were that MTT and Acupuncture were used in CG, MTT and acupuncture are used separately in MTT and ACU groups. Patients of Ctrl Group were on the waiting list. All four groups were treated for 8 weeks. The Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT), Foot And Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) were assessed for the ankle function evaluation.Results:After treatment, the CAIT (23.17 ± 5.22, 21.17 ± 6.85, 21.88 ± 4.24 vs. 20.10 ± 6.31, F=34.737), FAAM-ADL (96.52 ± 3.61, 94.39 ± 5.56, 95.04 ± 4.03 vs. 92.66 ± 10.18, F=39.244), FAAM-Sport (72.38 ± 8.10, 70.71 ± 9.57, 71.82 ± 10.0 vs. 57.98 ± 15.27, F=42.187) and AOFAS (89.16 ± 3.02, 85.82 ± 5.33, 86.08 ± 4.00 vs. 77.08 ± 8.90, F=37.629) in CG Group, MTT Group, ACU Group were significantly higher than those in the Ctrl Group ( P<0.01). Conclusion:Acupuncture combined with MTT treatment can increase the stability and improve the ankle function, which is superior to acupuncture alone and MTT alone.