Effectiveness and safety of aromatherapy massage for knee osteoarthritis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of aromatherapy massage in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. METHODS: To collect relevant literature, we will research following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database and Wanfang Data the time is from inception to December 30, 2021, and the language is limited to Chinese and English. In addition, we will retrieve other literature resources, including the Chinese Clinical Trial Register, conference papers. Two reviewers will independently complete the literature screen and data extraction, and quality assessment of the included studies will be independently completed by 2 other researchers. The primary outcomes included the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scale, the visual analog scale, symptom score, Lysholm knee scoring scale, adverse events, and adverse reactions as secondary outcomes would be assessed. RevMan V.5.4.1 software will be used for meta-analysis, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) will be used to assess the quality of evidence. RESULTS: This systematic review will be showed a high-quality synthesis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of aromatherapy massage in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis, providing reference for the safe and effective treatment of knee osteoarthritis. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence of whether aromatherapy massage is effective. Systematic review registration: INPLASY202210010 URL: https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2022-1-0010/