Outcome Study of Non-operative Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis in Middle-aged Patients With Reference to the Body Mass Index—A Randomised Prospective Study

摘要

From the year 2006 to 2008, 69 patients of symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knees were divided randomly and entered into three non-operative treatment protocols. It included 4 weeks of pharmacological treatment followed by 4 weeks of specific treatments (physiotherapy, acupuncture, and combined). The pretreatment and post-treatment physical and functional statuses were evaluated. Their body mass index (BMI) was measured. The patients with below-normal BMI did not benefit from all the three treatment protocols. However, all other groups of increased BMI did benefit from all three treatment protocols in terms of pain score, analgesic sparing, and knee scores.