Application effect of intrafascial thermal needle therapy combined with joint mobilization in the treatment of postoperative knee stiffness with qi-stagnation and blood-stasis syndrome
MAI Guanghuai
LI Zhipeng
LIANG Pingfang
WANG Zhijun
Abstract：Objective To investigate the application effect of intrafascial thermal needle therapy combined with joint mobilization in the treatment of postoperative knee stiffness with qi-stagnation and blood-stasis syndrome.Methods In total,135 patients with postoperative knee stiffness with qi-stagnation and blood-stasis syndrome who were admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation,the Fifth People's Hospital of Foshan City,from January 2023 to December 2024 were selected for the study,and they were divided into the control group(n=67)and the research group(n=68)according to random number table method.The control group was treated with joint mobilization,and the research group was treated with intrafascial thermal needle therapy combined with joint mobilization.The two groups were compared in terms of knee function,knee mobility,pain,joint swelling,knee muscle strength,and quality of life at 8 weeks after the intervention.Results After the intervention,the research group showed higher scores in all dimensions of the Hospital for Special Surgery Knee(HSS)Score,Lysholm scores,and the Generic Quality of Life Inventory-74(GQOLI-74)compared with the control group,while the Numerical Rating Scale(NRS)and swelling scores were lower than those of the control group(P＜0.05).After the intervention,the maximum active flexion range of motion of the heel-to-buttock movement in the sagittal plane,total range of motion,knee peak torque ratio,and the maximum extension range of motion were higher in the research group than in the control group(P＜0.05).However,no significant difference was observed in the maximum extension angle of the heel moving away from the buttock in the sagittal plane between the two groups(P＞0.05).There was no difference in the incidence of complications in the research group[4.41％(3/68)]when compared with the control group[4.48％(3/67)](P＞0.05).Conclusion In the treatment of postoperative knee stiffness with qi-stagnation and blood-stasis syndrome,intrafascial thermal needle therapy combined with joint mobilization can effectively improve knee joint function and range of motion,relieve the severity of pain and swelling,and improve knee joint muscle strength and quality of life.
Keywords：knee stiffnessqi-stagnation and blood-stasis syndromeintrafascial thermal needle therapyjoint mobilizationknee range of motionknee muscle strengthquality of lifepostoperative complications
Publication Date：2025-12-28
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-16(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 129-135 )