Clinical efficacy comparison of moxibustion with different doses for knee osteoarthritis

Objective To compare the efficacy of moxibustion with different doses for knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and explore the correlation between moxibustion dose and clinical efficacy. Methods Sixty-eight patients with KOA who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into a 20-minute moxibustion group and a 40-minute moxibustion group by the random number table method, with 34 cases in each group. Dubi (ST 35), Neixiyan (EX-LE 4) and Heding (EX-LE 2) were used for moxibustion in the two groups. Each treatment lasted 20 min or 40 min for each point in the 20-minute moxibustion group and 40-minute moxibustion group, separately; the treatment was given 3 times a week and lasted for 4 weeks. The visual analog scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster University osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptom scores were evaluated before and after treatment to compare the efficacy between different moxibustion doses for KOA. Results After treatment, the total effective rate was 87.5% in the 40-minute moxibustion group, versus 70.0% in the 20-minute moxibustion group, and the difference in the total effective rate between the two groups was statistically significant (P0.05). After treatment, the VAS scores, the total WOMAC scores and the component scores of pain, stiffness and dysfunction, and the TCM symptom scores in both groups all changed significantly when compared with those before treatment (all P0.05). After treatment, the between-group differences in the VAS score, the total WOMAC score and the component scores of pain and dysfunction, and the TCM symptom score were statistically significant (all P0.05), while the difference in the stiffness score in WOMAC showed no statistical significance (P0.05). Conclusion Either 20-minute moxibustion or 40-minute moxibustion can relieve pain, improve stiffness, dysfunction, and TCM symptoms for KOA; and 40-minute moxibustion is better in relieving pain, improving dysfunction and TCM symptoms.