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

BACKGROUND: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA), a concerning public health problem, seriously threatens well being of human beings. At present, studies have shown that massage therapy is effective in relieving related symptoms of KOA. However, the evidence of massage for KOA has not been systematically evaluated. Therefore, the study is conducted to systematically assess the reliability of patients with KOA treated by massage. METHODS: We will retrieve the relevant literature of massage for KOA from PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, Wanfang, Chongqing VIP, CNKI, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database from the establishment of the databases to August 1, 2020. Two researchers will independently perform the screening of literature and extract the basic information of the data. In addition, RevMan V.5.3 software will be used for data analysis. RESULTS: The study will comprehensively assess the effect of massage for KOA. CONCLUSION: The study will provide comprehensive evidence for evaluating whether massage therapy is useful in treating patients with KOA. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202080115.