OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical effect of early degenerative knee osteoarthritis with cold-damp stagnation treated with electroacupuncture (EA) combined with thunder-fire moxibustion and simple EA.

METHODSEighty cases were randomly assigned into a combination group and an EA group,40 cases in each one. Twenty-five min EA was used in the EA group mainly atpoints,Neixiyan(EX-LE 4),Zusanli(ST 36),Dubi(ST 35),Yanglingquan(GB 34),Yinlingquan(SP 9) and Liangqiu(ST 34) after(arrival),once a day. Based on EA at the same acupoints as the EA group,thunder-fire moxibustion was applied atpoints,Dubi(ST 35)and Liangqiu(ST 34) by means of 20-minute suspended moxibustion,once a day. Ten-day treatment was seen as one course,and continuous 2 courses were applied. The indices were observed before and after treatment including visual analogue scale(VAS) score,Lequesne index score,Lysholm score of knee joint,serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Clinical effects were also evaluated and 6-month follow-up was implemented to show the recurrence rate.

RESULTSAfter treatment the total effective rate of the combination group was 95.0%(38/40),which was better than 82.5%(33/40) of the EA group(<0.05).The Lequesne index score,VAS score,serum CRP and ESR apparently decreased compared with those before treatment in the two groups(all<0.05),and the four indices in the combination group were obviously lower than those in the EA group(all<0.05). As for the Lysholm knee joint score,the good rates of the two groups enhanced after treatment(both<0.05),and the result of the combination group was superior to that of the EA group[87.5%(35/40) vs 72.5%(29/40),<0.05]. At 6-month follow-up,the recurrence rate of the combination group was lower than that of the EA group[26.7%(4/15) vs 100.0%(9/9),<0.05].

CONCLUSIONSEA combined with thunder-fire moxibustion achieve good effect for degenerative knee osteoarthritis with cold-damp stagnation. The combination therapy have advantages in effect duration compared with simple EA.