RESUMO
[Objective]To evaluate the efficacy of the different depth of acupuncture on the motor function and the pain with osteoarthritis of the knee. <BR>[Design]Single blind randomized controlled trial.<BR>[Method]Subjects were randomly allocated to one of two groups. Acupuncture needles were inserted about 3mm in the superficial acupuncture group and 10 to 20 mm in the deep acupuncture group. Subjects in both groups received the treatments for ten minutes on ten tender points. Acupuncture sessions were performed once a week for 8 weeks and without treatment 4 weeks.<BR>[Outcome Measures]Pain intensity (visual analogue scale :VAS) , Objective evaluation of the motor function (Timed Up &Go test, 20m walking time, Time of going up and down stairs) and QOL (Western Ontario and MacMaster Universities osteoarthritis index :WOMAC).<BR>All measurements were recorded at baseline, 4th, 8th and 11thweek.<BR>[Result]Motor function improved significantly only in the superficial acupuncture group(P<0.05). The degree of pain decreased significantly in both groups (P<0.05). <BR>[Conclusion]Superficial acupuncture provided the improvements on pain and motor function and contributed to the QOL improvement. Therefore the superficial acupuncture would be suggested to be one of the most effective method for the acupuncture treatment of OA of the knee.