Therapeutic effect observation of chronic knee joint pain assisted with the central-square needling technique of the thumb-tack needles / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the differences in the clinical therapeutic effects on chronic knee joint pain between the combination of the central-square needling technique of thumb-tack needles with the routine therapy of acupuncture, moxibustion andand the routine therapy of acupuncture, moxibustion and.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and twenty patients of chronic knee joint pain were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 60 cases in each one. In the control group, the routine therapy of acupuncture, moxibustion andwas adopted. In the observation group, at the end of treatment with the routine therapy of acupuncture, moxibustion and, the subcutaneous embedding therapy was followed with four thumb-tack needles at the sites 1 to 1.5 cm above, below and bilateral to the main point (point) separately, and the needles were retained for 24 h to 48 h. The treatment was given once every two days, three times a week, totally 6 times in two weeks; and the follow-up visit was done for 3 months in patients of the two groups. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score before and after each treatment, Lequesne index score before treatment and at the end of follow-up and the case numbers of proactive use of painkillers or receiving acupuncture treatment in the follow-up stage were compared and observed in the patients of the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The VAS score was reduced gradually after treatment in the patients of the two groups. The differences were significant statistically after the second treatment as compared with those before the treatment in the two groups (all<0.05), in which, the improvements in VAS scores after the third treatment in the observation group were more obvious than those in the control group (all<0.05). At the end of follow-up visit, Lequesne index scores were all improved as compared with those before treatment in the two groups (both<0.05) and the improvements were similar between the two groups (>0.05). In the follow-up stage, there were 0 case in the observation group and 9 cases in the control group in terms of proactive use of painkillers (<0.05). There were 5 cases in the observation group and 1 case in the control group receiving acupuncture treatment again (>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The acupuncture scheme in assistance with the central-square needling technique of thumb-tack needles obviously relieves chronic knee joint pain, much better sustains the analgesic effects of acupuncture and improves patient compliance.</p>

An open label, prospective, clinical study on a polyherbal formulation in osteoarthritis of knee.

Background: Currently, though pharmacological, mechanical, and surgical interventions are used, there is no known cure for osteoarthritis (OA). Objectives: The main aim of the study was to assess the effi cacy and safety of “TLPL/AY/03/2008,” a polyherbal formulation on knee joint pain assessed on visual analogue scale (VAS) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Materials and Methods: It was an open label, single center, prospective, clinical study conducted in 36 patients of OA Knee. Two capsules of ‘TLPL/AY/03/2008’ were given to all patients twice daily orally after meals for 180 days. Results: Data describing quantitative measures are expressed as meanSD. Comparison of variables representing categorical data was performed using Chi-square test. The mean joint pain (as assessed on VAS) reduced signifi cantly (59.85%; P0.05) and the mean WOMAC combined score, WOMAC pain sub-score, WOMAC stiffness sub-score, and WOMAC diffi culty sub-score also reduced signifi cantly at the end of the study. The mean time taken by the patients to walk 50 feet too, was reduced signifi cantly (25.26%) at the end of the study. At the end of 4 months of the treatment, no patient needed paracetamol as rescue medicine to control pain. Most of the patients had shown good overall improvement assessed by the physician and by the patients. Majority of the patients showed excellent tolerability to the study drug. No signifi cant change in most of the safety laboratory parameters was observed at the end of the study. Conclusion: The study provides good evidence in support of the effi cacy and safety of the ‘TLPL/AY/03/2008’ in OA of knee.

The Effects of Hand Acupuncture Therapy on Pain, ROM, ADL and Depression among Elders with Low Back Pain and Knee Joint Pain

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of hand acupuncture therapy on pain, ROM, ADL, and depression among older people with low back pain and knee joint pain. METHODS: The research was a quasi-experimental design using a non-equivalent control group pre-post test. The participants were 40 patients, 18 in the experimental group and 22 in the control group. A pretest and 2 posttest were conducted to measure the main variables. For the experimental group, hand acupuncture therapy, consisting of hand acupuncture and press-pellets based on corresponding points, was given. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in pain, ROM in knee joint, and ADL in the experimental group but not in depression compared to the control group over two different times. CONCLUSION: The hand acupuncture therapy was effective for low back pain, knee joint pain, ROM in knee joint and ADL among the elders in this study. Therefore, the hand acupuncture therapy can be utilized in the field of geriatric nursing as a nursing intervention for older people with low back pain and knee joint pain.

The Effects of Dogbi(ST35) & Sulan Moxibustion on Knee Joint Pain, Range of Motion and Discomfort during ADL in the Aged / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to test the effects of ST35 & Sulan moxibustion on knee joint pain, range of motion, and discomfort during Activies of Daily Living (ADL) in elderly with knee joint pain. METHOD: A nonequivalent control group pre-post test research design was used. Thirty four elderly who had knee joint pain were studied. Of them, sixteen were in the experimental group and eighteen the control group. The instruments used for this study were NRS, goniometer, and a modified ADL questionnaire developed by Lee. RESULT: The pain scores of right & left knee joint after moxibustion were significantly different between the experimental group and the control group (Right: F=26.27, p=0.000, Left: F=20.77, p=0.000). Right and left knee ROM scores were significantly different between the experimental group and the control group after moxibustion (Right: F=10.74, p=0.003, Left: F=9.239, p=0.005). Discomfort during ADL scores were significantly different between the experimental group and the control group after moxibustion (F= 32.31, p=0.000). CONCLUSION: It is necessary that nurses provide the elderly with knee joint pain with moxibustion to reduce joint pain and to increase knee ROM as an alternative therapy.

INFLUENCE OF THE EXERCISE INTERVENTION ON PHYSICAL FUNCTION IN THE COMMUNITY-DWELLING INDEPENDENT ELDERLY WITH KNEE JOINT PAIN / 体力科学

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the exercise program for Osteoarthritis of the knee (knee OA) which American Geriatrics Society Panel on Exercise and Osteoarthritis (AGS) recommends on physical function in Japanese independent elderly with knee joint pain.Methods: Subjects of this study were 36 (7 males : aged 74.7±5.1 years, 29 females : aged 72.3±4.6 years) community-dwelling independent elderly with knee joint pain who voluntary participated in our exercise program. The program consisted of massage around knee, flexibility exercises in knee and ankle joints, and leg muscle development exercises. They performed these exercises twelve times for a month at regular intervals. Physical function were evaluated by the muscle strength during knee extension and flexion, the range of motion of knee joint and the center of pressure during upright standing. There were three times measurements at one month before starting of the program (the 1 st), immediately before beginning of the program (the 2 nd), and just after ending of the program (the 3 rd). Difference between change in measurement values during the observation period (subtract the 1 st from the 2 nd ; Δ1) and that during intervention period (subtract the 2 nd from the 3 rd ; Δ2) were analyzed by Students't-test.Results and Conclusion: There was significant difference between Δ1 (0.01±0.05 kg/wt) and Δ2 (0.04±0.05 kg/wt) on maximal muscle strength during knee extension. This result suggested that the exercise program recommended by AGS was improved the leg muscle strength in Japanese elderly with knee joint pain. However the effects of the exercise intervention were not clarified on the other physical function. As for the reasons it seems to affect the initial level of joint pain and physical function in the subjects. Therefore, reexamination of this point with a greater number of samples which the worse level of knee joint pain is needed in the future.

Effects of a Taping Method on Pain and ROM of the Knee Joint in the Elderly / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was to investigate the effects of a taping method on pain and ROM of the knee joint in the elderly. METHOD: The subjects were seniors registered in a senior welfare center in D city. An experimental group of 30 persons and acontrol group of 33 persons were chosen and according to the proper conditions and a knee pain score was marked from 1-5 on a Numerical Pain Rating Scale. For the experimental group, the taping method was conducted three times a week for four weeks (twelve times in all) but the control group did not receive taping.. The measuring instrument of knee pain was a numerical pain rating scale from 0 to 10 and the ROM score was the average value of three measured values witha goniometer. The data was analyzed with SPSS WIN 10.0 using an chi-square-test, t-test,repeated measures ANOVA, and time contrast. RESULT: Knee joint pain was significantly decreased in the experimental group over that of the control group (p=.001). In addition, knee joint ROM of the experimental group was significantly improved over that of the control group (p=.001). CONCLUSION: It was proven that the taping method was effective for pain relief and increasing ROM of the knee joint in the elderly.

The Effect of Hand Moxibustion Therapy on Knee Joint Pain, Joint Range of Motion and Discomfort during ADL in Elderly People / 기본간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was done for the purpose of testing the effects of hand moxibustion on pain in the knee joint, range of motion of the knee, and discomfort during ADL in elderly persons with knee joint pain. METHOD: Nonequivalent control group pre-post test research design was used. The participants were 35 elders who had knee joint pain. Sixteen were assigned to the experimental group and 19 to the control group. The instruments used for this study were the GRS (Graphic rating scale) for knee joint pain, goniometer for knee joint ROM, and modified ADL questionnaire developed by Lee. Analysis of data was done by percents, means and standard deviation, x2test, t-test, and ANCOVA using SPSS WIN 10.0. RESULT: The pain score for the right knee joint after hand moxibustion was significantly different between the experimental group and the control group after hand moxibustion (p=.035). The pain score for the left knee joint was not significantly different between the experimental group and the control group after hand moxibustion (p=.075). Right and left knee ROM scores were significantly different between the experimental group and the control group after hand moxibustion (Right p=.000, Left p=.034). Discomfort of ADL score was not significantly different between the experimental group and the control group after hand moxibustion (p=.053). CONCLUSION: In summary, knee joint pain in elders after hand moxibustion decreased and knee ROM in elders after hand moxibustion increased. So it would be useful for nurses to provide hand moxibustion as an alternative therapy to elders with knee joint pain in the community and thus reduce joint pain and increase knee ROM

Changes in the Visual Analogue Scale Score Following Freezing Cold Air Application in Knee Joint Pain

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of the cold air application on the subjective pain threshold of knee joint pain. METHOD: We recorded the changes of the pain threshold in 60 patients before and after cold air application who complaint of knee joint pain. Patients were divided into 3 groups randomly with each 20 patients and each group received cold air application for 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes. Cold air of CRAis (Kyung-won Century, Korea) was applied to the anterior portion of the knee with a temperature of 30oC. The changes of the pain threshold was estimated by visual analogue scale. RESULTS: In 30 seconds treating group, VAS score was lowered 2.25+/-1.16 and 2.26+/-1.13 immediately after, and 30 minutes after cold air application, respectively (P<0.05). In 1 minutes treating group, VAS score was lowered 1.65+/-2.58 and 2.41+/-2.59 immediately after and 30 minutes after cold air application, respectively (P<0.05). In 3 minutes treating group, VAS score was lowered 1.94+/-1.80 and 2.10+/-2.3 immediately after and 30 minutes after cold air application, respectively (P<0.05). The VAS score was lowered significantly after cold air application in all groups, but there's no significant correlation between change of VAS score and cold air application time. In group with initial VAS score greater than 5, the VAS score was more decreased after cold air application. CONCLUSION: Cold air application for 30 seconds using CRAis machine is useful treatment method for knee joint pain.