[Effects of acupotomy on partial movement gait and serum tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β in patients with knee osteoarthritis].

Objective: To explore effects of acupotomy on pain, function, gait and serum inflammatory factors in patients with knee osteoarthritis(KOA).
Methods: From December 2017 to June 2019, 110 patients with KOA were collected and divided into acupotomy group(56 cases) and western medicine group(54 cases) by using random number table method. In acupotomy group, there were 16 males and 40 females, aged from 46 to 74 years old with an average of (62.98±6.68) years old, the course of disease ranged from 1 to 240 months with an average of 24.5(15.25, 33.00) months;were treated with acupotomy on the pain points around knee joint once a week for 3 weeks. In western medicine group, there were 18 males and 36 females, aged from 47 to 73 years old with an average of (64.19±5.98 ) years old;the course of disease ranged from 1 to 220 months with an average of 25.00(13.75, 33.00) months;were took celecoxib capsule orally, 200 mg once a day for 3 weeks. Oxford Knee Score(OKS) was performed before treatment, 3 weeks and 3 months after treatment. Gait kinematics analysis and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) were measured before and after treatment for 3 weeks.
Results: All patients were followed up from 6 to 24 months with an average of(15.03±4.55) months. OKS between two groups decreased significantly at 3 weeks and 3 months after treatment( P <0.001). Functional scores and overall scores in acupotomology group were significantly decreased at 3 months compared with 3 weeks after treatment( P <0.001). OKS of acupotomy group were significantly lower than those of western medicine group at 3 weeks and 3 months after treatment( P <0.05). Gait speed, frequency and length between two groups were significantly improved at 3 weeks after treatment( P <0.05). At 3 weeks after treatment, gait freguency of acupotomy group was significantly improved compared with western medicine group( P <0.05). TNF-α and IL-1β were significantly lower in both groups at 3 weeks after treatment than before treatment( P <0.05). At 3 weeks after treatment, level of IL-1 β was lower in western medicine group than in acupotomy group( P <0.05), and difference in TNF-α level was not statistically significant( P >0.05).
Conclusion: Acupotomology of pain points could significantly improve pain, function, gait, and decreased serum inflammatory factors at early to mid stage of KOA patients, in particular, it is superior to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in terms of knee function recovery and cadence improvement.