Electroacupuncture Treatment in Osteoarthritis Pain of the Knee for Geriatric Patients

Abstract

Abstract

Background:

Joint pain or discomfort from osteoarthritis (OA) affects a large percentage of middle age and elderly persons in all countries. The frequency of OA-related physical disability makes OA one of the leading causes of disability in the elderly.

Objective:

To assess the efficacy of electroacupuncture in providing pain relief by 10 sessions of therapy to geriatric patients with OA pain of the knee.

Patients:

A case series of 42 patients with OA pain of the knee in Indonesia were treated using electroacupuncture from January 2009 to August 2009.

Intervention:

All patients received electroacupuncture treatment on bilateral Heding, Xiyan, and ST 36 Zusanli for 10 consecutive days.

Main Outcome Measures:

The primary outcome measure was change in pain measured using the Numeric Analogue Scale (0–10) at the end of the study (day 10).

Results:

At the end of the treatment, a paired t-test showed significant improvement in the pain scores after 10 treatments compared to baseline (P<0.05).

Conclusions:

Adjunctive electroacupuncture treatment seems to provide added improvement to standard care in elderly patients with OA of the knee.