Therapeutic Value of Traditional Chinese Massage plus Moxibustion for Degenerative Knee Osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic value of traditional Chinese massage plus moxibustion for degenerative knee osteoarthritis (DKOA). METHODS: From January 2019 to October 2021, 152 patients with DKOA were enrolled. All patients were randomly divided into the treatment group and the control group. The control group was treated with oral glucosamine hydrochloride capsules. The treatment group was treated with traditional Chinese massage and moxibustion on the basis of the control group. The duration of treatment in the two groups was 8 weeks. The effectiveness, visual analog scale (VAS) score, the hospital for special surgery (HSS) score, World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF) score, serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were compared between the two groups before and after treatment. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, sex, and the duration of disease between the two groups (P > 0.05). The overall response rate in the treatment group was significantly higher than that of the control group after treatment (92.1% vs 78.9%; P=0.038); the VAS score of both two groups were significantly decreased, and the VAS score in the treatment group was significantly lower than that of the control group (3.5 ± 1.4 vs 4.8 ± 1.1; P < 0.001); the HSS score and WHOQOL-BREF score significantly improved in both groups, and the HSS score and WHOQOL-BREF score improved more in the treatment group than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The high-sensitivity CRP level significantly decreased in both groups, and the high-sensitivity CRP level in treatment group is lower than that of the control group (2.79 ± 1.65 vs 4.37 ± 1.54; P < 0.001); the IL-6 level was significantly decreased in the treatment group than in the control group (7.22 ± 3.41 vs 4.59 ± 2.98; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Traditional Chinese massage plus moxibustion is worthy of clinical application, which has a significant clinical effect on DKOA, reducing pain and improving knee joint function and quality of life.