Therapeutic effect of acupuncture point injection with placental extract in knee osteoarthritis.

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.