ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture point injection (API) with placental extract on pain reduction and joint function in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Fifty-two patients with knee OA, with an average age of 64, and having a symptom duration of more than 3 months were studied in this report. Placental extract was injected weekly into acupuncture point ST35, BL23, BL24 and BL25 for 5 weeks; 8 mL of placental extract into ST35 on the affected side, and 1 mL of placental extract to BL23, BL24 and BL25 bilaterally. RESULTS: After a five-week treatment of API with placental extract, pain was substantially decreased in patients of all Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grades. Improvement of knee joint swelling was also apparent. Decrease of pain and joint swelling improved daily working productive time among patients of all KL grades. CONCLUSION: Study results imply that API with placental extract is a potentially useful therapy to control pain and maintain joint functions in knee OA patients.
Subject(s)
Acupuncture Points , Osteoarthritis, Knee/therapy , Placenta , Tissue Extracts/administration & dosage , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Injections , Male , Middle Aged , Osteoarthritis, Knee/physiopathology , PregnancyABSTRACT
This is a case report of a female patient who developed complex regional pain syndrome in the left upper limb after a traumatic injury to the distal part of the left forearm. The pain was immediate and resistant to oral analgesics and continued transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Five months after the injury, the patient presented to our clinic with severe pain, swelling, redness, cold sensation of the left hand, and loss of function from the left hand up to the left shoulder. Acupuncture points LI5, LU2, SI10, HT1, GB21, and SI11 (which are localized in the joints or in the muscles responsible for the movement of the left upper limb) were selected for the application of the placental extract. Injection of placental extract into the acupuncture points resulted in dramatic pain relief, swelling remission, motor recovery, temperature normalization, and disappearance of redness in this patient with complex regional pain syndrome type 1.