[Comparison of ibuprofen with acupuncture in reducing knee osteoarthritis pain]

ABSTRACT

Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease of humans. Acupuncture is one of the treatments for Osteoarthritis. This study aimed to compare Ibuprofen with acupuncture in the pain reduction in knee Osteoarthritis. This is a clinical trial which was performed in Shiraz Medical School Clinics in 2007. Forty six patients with chronic pain due to the knee Osteoarthritis were recruited using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. All the patients were randomly divided into two groups [A and B] who received Ibuprofen [1200 mg/day] or acupuncture [2 sessions per week] for 2 weeks, respectively. Evaluating measuring tools were pain intensity [based on VAS], ROM [based on degree] and morning stiffness of the knee joint. Collected data were analyzed by Chi-Square test, using SPSS software. Pain intensity at baseline, after the course of treatment and 3 weeks after the treatment in group A was 7.29 +/- 0.61, 4.20 +/- 0.93 and 5.20 +/- 1.32 cm, respectively; while these figures for group B were 7.35 +/- 0.82, 3.43 +/- 0.96 and 4.93 +/- 1.32 cm, respectively [p<0.005]. Also knee ROM degree in group A was 21.54 +/- 7.46, 13.08 +/- 5.60 and 15.38 +/- 3.2; and for group B was 20.36 +/- 7.19, 12.40 +/- 5.78 and 10.36 +/- 5.30, respectively [p=0.003]. Knee morning stiffness improved more in group B. Result of this study showed that both modalities significantly reduced the pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis and improved ROM while morning stiffness improved more in group B