Acupuncture, herbal fumigation and kinesitherapy for postoperative dysfunction of the knee joint

XU Xian-fang; LUO Kai-min; HOU Zhi; BIAN Na; ZHANG Kai; YANG Chen

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2095-252X.2014.11.24

Abstract：Objective To observe the clinical results of acupuncture, herbal fumigation and kinesitherapy in the treatment of knee joint dysfunction after the operation for tibial plateau fractures.Methods A total of 84 patients with knee joint dysfunction after the operation for tibial plateau fractures were randomly divided into 2 groups, including the treatment group of needle acupuncture, herbal fumigation and kinesitherapy (n=56 ) and the control group of simple kinesitherapy (n=28 ). The Visual Analogue Scale ( VAS ) was used for pain assessment, and the Harris score standard for rehabilitation evaluation.Results The VAS scores were 8.14±0.94 points and 1.93±1.08 points before and after the treatment respectively in the treatment group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05 ). The VAS scores were 8.03±1.02 points and 2.71±0.99 points before and after the treatment respectively in the control group, with statistically signiifcant differences (P<0.05 ). The differences in the VAS score after the treatment were statistically significant between the 2 groups (P<0.05 ). The total improvement rates of knee joint function were 96% and 82% in the treatment group and the control group respectively, with statistically signiifcant differences. The results were excellent in 35 cases, good in 14 cases, fair in 5 cases and poor in 2 cases in the treatment group, and excellent in 12 cases, good in 7 cases, fair in 4 cases and poor in 5 cases in the control group.Conclusions When compared with that of the simple kinesitherapy, the curative outcomes of acupuncture, herbal fumigation and kinesitherapy are better in the treatment of knee joint dysfunction after the operation for tibial plateau fractures, which is worthy of clinical application.