To observe the clinical efficacy of warm acupuncture in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) of cold-dampness obstruction syndrome in the early and middle stages.

A total of 103 KOA patients with cold-dampness obstruction syndrome from Shijie Hospital in Dongguan City between January 2018 to December 2020 were collected, and were divided in 51 cases in the electroacupuncture group and 52 cases in the warm acupuncture group according to the patients′ voluntary selection..The two groups were treated with electroacupuncture or warm acupuncture at the same acupoints, once every other day, three times a week, for four consecutive weeks. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, Western Ontario and MeMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores, and serum cytokine levels were compared before and after treatment between two groups, and the clinical efficacy of the two groups was assessed.

After 4 weeks of treatment, VAS scores and WOMAC scores of patients in the warm acupuncture group were lower than those in the electroacupuncture group(t=5.69、3.72、2.33、10.74、9.73, P<0.05). The serum tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-1β levels of patients in the warm acupuncture group were lower than those of the electroacupuncture group(t=11.14、8.13, P<0.05). The serum fibroblast growth factor-2 and transforming growth factor β1 levels of the patients in the warm acupuncture group were higher than those of the electroacupuncture group(t=-6.43、-9.19, P<0.05). The total effective rate of the electroacupuncture group was 90.2% (46/51), and the total effective rate of the warm acupuncture group was 96.2% (50/52), and the difference of the efficacy between the two groups was statistically significant(χ²=4.37, P<0.05).

The warm acupuncture showed significant efficacy in treating early and middle stage KOA of cold-dampness obstruction syndrome, which may be related to the reduction of inflammatory factors, thus inhibiting the inflammatory response and improving the repair of cartilage as well as damaged synoviocytes.