Self-administered Acupressure for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Knee Osteoarthritis
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Knee Osteoarthritis focused on measuring Knee Osteoarthritis
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- ethnic Chinese;
- aged 50 -70 years
- fulfills any 3 of the following criteria proposed by Altman et al., (1986): ( I. morning stiffness</= 30 min; ii. crepitus on active joint motion; iii. bone tenderness; iv. bone enlargement; or v. no palpable joint warmth);
- having knee pain for at least 3 months;
- ability to provide informed consent;
- ability to comprehend Chinese; and
- Knee pain ≥3/10 and </= 7 on a Likert pain scale from 1-10
Exclusion Criteria:
- medical diagnoses or conditions that preclude individuals from active participation (bleeding disorders, alcohol or drug abuse);
- presence of skin lesions or infections at the treatment sites;
- currently participating in other interventional research studies for knee OA;
- cognitive impairment preventing informed consent or understanding of instructions
- body mass index over 25, the obese criteria for Asians (Anuurad et al., 2003);
- knee pain related to other conditions (cancer, fracture, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatism) as screened according to the red flags for further investigation or referral in the NICE 2014 Guidelines for Osteoarthritis of the knee;
- had previous foot injury or trauma;
- using of steroid for knee pain;
- pregnancy or contemplating pregnancy;
- ever received acupressure for knee OA over the past 6 months.
Sites / Locations
- School of Nursing, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Active Comparator
Self-acupressure Training
Knee Health Education
Subjects in the self-administered acupressure exercise group will receive two 1.5 hours acupressure training sessions. The training will be conducted in a group format with 4-7 subjects per group. Each subject will then receive a handout and an acupressure log. The handout includes a picture-illustrating acupressure step-by-step protocol. They will be told to perform the self-acupressure twice per day for 6 weeks.
Subjects in the health education control group will receive knowledge related to knee OA. The health education will be conducted in a talk format for 1.5 hours for two sessions.