Arthritic diseases

Acupuncture adds to benefit of ibuprofen for knee pain

Acupuncture plus topical ibuprofen (TIP) may be better than TIP alone for patients with chronic knee pain (CKP) due to osteoarthritis (OA). Chinese authors carried out a retrospective analysis of the medical records of 84 patients with CKP due to OA. Patients were divided into a group who had been treated with acupuncture plus TIP and a control group who had received TIP monotherapy. Acupuncture was applied on the affected side at Yanglinquan GB-34, Yinlinquan SP-9, Zusanli ST-36, Dubi ST-35 and Neixiyan MN‑LE‑16, three times per week for a total of eight weeks. Patients who received adjunctive acupuncture showed better results in terms of pain, function and stiffness, compared with patients who received TIP alone.

A retrospective study of acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy to topical ibuprofen for chronic knee pain due to osteoarthritis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019 Apr;98(17):e15308