Effectiveness of Local Point Acupuncture and Ear Acupuncture in Patients with Knee Pain at Sehat Bugar Akupunktur, Bandung
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62354/ijoa.v4i1.68Keywords:
Knee Pain, Local Points, Ear Acupuncture, WOMAC ScoreAbstract
Knee pain is a common complaint in adults and the elderly. Treatment for osteoarthritis patients includes non-pharmacological, pharmacological, and surgical therapies. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used, but NSAIDs cause side effects on the gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems, limiting their use among patients with OAC. One such non-pharmacological therapy is acupuncture and ear acupuncture. To determine the difference in effectiveness between local acupuncture and ear acupuncture on the WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index) score of knee pain patients at Sehat Bugar Akupunktur, Bandung. A quasi-experimental study design with a two-group pre- and post-test design was used. A sample of 38 individuals experiencing knee pain who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria was divided into two treatment groups of 19 individuals each. The first group received local acupuncture, and the second group received ear acupuncture. The intervention was carried out 10 times twice a week, for five weeks. Pain was assessed using the WOMAC questionnaire. Data were analyzed using paired sample t-tests and independent sample t-tests at a significance level of 0.05. Both local acupuncture and ear acupuncture have been shown to reduce WOMAC scores, but there was no significant difference between the two.
References
Helmi RY. Diagnosis dan pengelolaan osteoartritis (lutut, tangan, dan panggul) [Internet]. Jakarta: Perhimpunan Reumatologi Indonesia; 2021 [cited 2025 Dec 23]. Available from: https://lontar.ui.ac.id/detail?id=9999920520545
Cui A, Li H, Wang D, Zhong J, Chen Y, Lu H. Global, regional prevalence, incidence and risk factors of knee osteoarthritis in population-based studies. EClinicalMedicine [Internet]. 2020 Dec;29-30:100587 [cited 2025 Jun 13]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7704420/
Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia. Hasil utama Riskesdas 2018 [Internet]. Jakarta: Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia; 2018 Nov [cited 2025 Nov 27]. Available from: https://repository.kemkes.go.id/book/1323
Komalasari DR, Salsabila D, Susilo TE. Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching untuk menurunkan nyeri dan meningkatkan lingkup gerak sendi penderita osteoarthritis lutut. J Penelit Kesehat Suara Forikes [Internet]. 2024 Jun;15(2)
Sibarani JJ, Kuntara A, Rasyid RPHN. Korelasi antara usia dan derajat osteoartritis sendi lutut berdasarkan sistem klasifikasi Kellgren-Lawrence di RSUP Dr. Hasan Sadikin Bandung tahun 2019-2020. J Med Health [Internet]. 2021;3
Zheng A, Zheng F, Jin K, Chi M, Mu J, Wei H, et al. Manual acupuncture at LI11, local points and both for knee osteoarthritis: a pilot randomized controlled trial. J Pain Res [Internet]. 2023 Dec;16:4393-404 [cited 2025 Jun 17]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S445770
Lin Y, Wu Y, Zhou Y, Shen B, Lv C. Observation of the therapeutic effect of auricular bean pressing on early knee osteoarthritis pain: a randomized controlled trial. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil [Internet]. 2023 Jul;36(4):779-91 [cited 2025 Jun 17]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3233/BMR-220271
Kong H, Wang XQ, Zhang XA. Exercise for osteoarthritis: a literature review of pathology and mechanism. Front Aging Neurosci [Internet]. 2022 May 3;14 [cited 2025 Jun 13]. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35592699/
Sharif MU, Aslam HM, Iftakhar T, Abdullah M. Pathophysiology of cartilage damage in knee osteoarthritis and regenerative approaches toward recovery. J Bone Joint Dis. 2024 Jan;39(1):32-44.
Segal NA, Nilges JM, Oo WM. Sex differences in osteoarthritis prevalence, pain perception, physical function and therapeutics. Osteoarthritis Cartilage [Internet]. 2024 Sep;32(9):1045-53.
Wang X, Perry TA, Arden N, Chen L, Parsons CM, Cooper C, et al. Occupational risk in knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020 Sep;72(9):1213-23.
Maciocia G. The practice of Chinese medicine: the treatment of diseases with acupuncture and Chinese herbs [Internet]. 3rd ed. Missouri: Elsevier; 2021 [cited 2025 Nov 23]. Available from: https://shop.elsevier.com/books/the-practice-of-chinese-medicine/maciocia/978-0-7020-7920-7
Wang M, Liu L, Zhang CS, Liao Z, Jing X, Fishers M, et al. Mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in treating knee osteoarthritis. J Pain Res [Internet]. 2020 Jun;13:1421-9.
Tong X, Wang Y, Dong B, Li Y, Lang S, Ma J, et al. Effects of genus Epimedium in the treatment of osteoarthritis and relevant signaling pathways. Chin Med [Internet]. 2023 Jul 31;18(1):92.
Sun J, Liang Y, Luo KT, Shao XM, Tu MQ, Wu XT, et al. Efficacy of different acupuncture techniques for pain and dysfunction in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial. Pain Ther [Internet]. 2025 Apr 17;14(2):737-51.
Zhang X, He B, Wang H, Sun X. Auricular acupressure for treating early stage of knee osteoarthritis: a randomized, sham-controlled prospective study. QJM. 2022 Aug;115(8):525-9.
Finnerup NB, Kuner R, Jensen TS. Neuropathic pain: from mechanisms to treatment. Physiol Rev [Internet]. 2021 Jan 1;101(1):259-301 [cited 2025 Jun 13]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00045.2019
Tjandrawinata R, Saputra K. Dasar biomedis akupunktur: untuk diagnosis dan terapi [Internet]. Abadi Z, editor. Surabaya: Airlangga University Press; 2022.
