Effect of acupuncture combined with early rehabilitation training on postoperative dysfunction and quality of life of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty.

OBJECTIVE: This research was designed to determine the effect of acupuncture combined with early rehabilitation training on dysfunction and quality of life of patients after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: Eighty-nine TKA patients admitted to our hospital from January 2018 to January 2020 were recruited as the research objects. Among them, 44 patients in the control group (CG) were given early rehabilitation training, and 45 in the research group (RG) were given acupuncture treatment additionally. Clinical efficacy, knee-joint visual analogue scale (VAS) score, American Knee Joint Society (AKSS) score, hemorheological indexes, modified Barthel index (BI) scale and SF-36 health survey of both groups were compared. RESULTS: The effective rate of treatment in the RG was dramatically higher than that in the CG. After treatment, the whole blood high, middle and low-shear viscosities, plasma viscosity and erythrocyte aggregation exponent of patients decreased, while these indexes in the RG were remarkably lower than those in the CG. In addition, after treatment, VAS score and knee circumference in the RG were markedly lower than those in the CG, and AKSS score and knee range of motion (ROM) were markedly better. Follow-up showed that BI and SF-36 health survey scale scores of patients increased after treatment, especially in the RG. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture combined with early rehabilitation training can relieve the pain of patients after TKA, promote the rehabilitation of knee joint function and improve their quality of life.