Sinew Acupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis

December 11, 2018 updated by: The University of Hong Kong

Sinew Acupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA): A Randomized, Sham Controlled, Patient and Assessor Blinded, Pilot Trial

The study aims to exam whether sinew acupuncture can relieve pain and symptoms of KOA and improve functional movement by Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMasters University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Timed up & Go Test (TUG) and 8-step Stair Climb Test (SCT) assessment, and Quality of life by Short Form-36 (SF-36). A randomized, sham acupuncture controlled, patient and assessor blinded, pilot study will be employed.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Objective:

The proposal aims to examine the efficacy and safety of sinew acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis (KOA).

Hypothesis to be tested:

Sinew acupuncture can reduce pain intensity, and improve knee function and health-related quality of life without significant side effects for KOA subjects compared to a sham acupuncture.

Design:

A randomized, subject- and assessor-blind, sham acupuncture-controlled clinical trial

Participants:

Subjects (N=86) will be randomized into sinew acupuncture or sham acupuncture group (in 1:1 ratio).

Study instrument:

Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMasters University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Timed up & Go Test (TUG), 8-step Stair Climb Test (SCT) assessment, and the Short Form-36 (SF-36).

Intervention:

Sinew acupuncture group will receive 10 sessions of needling in 4 weeks. Sham group will receive the non-invasive intervention with the same procedures. All subjects are followed up for 6 weeks.

Main outcome measures:

VAS for knee pain intensity at week 4 serves as the primary outcome. VAS at other time points, WOMAC score, TUG, SCT and SF-36 will be analyzed as the secondary outcomes.

Data analysis:

Analysis will be on the 'intention to treat' principle. T-test and mixed-effect model analysis will be used to measure primary and secondary outcomes respectively.

Expected results:

Sinew acupuncture treatment can significantly reduce knee pain intensity, and improve knee function and quality of life without obvious side effects.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
86

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Hong Kong
      • Wan Chai, Hong Kong
        • The Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Association The University of Hong Kong Clinical Centre for Teaching and Research in Chinese Medicine (Wan Chai)

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

50 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Hong Kong permanent residents aged on or above 50, both male and female;
  • meet the Clinical Classification Criteria for Osteoarthritis of the Knee by history, physical examination and radiographic findings (recommended by the American College of Rheumatology): history and physical examination: pain in the knee and one of the following (1. Over 50 years of age; 2. Less than 30 minutes of morning stiffness; 3. Crepitus on active motion and osteophytes) and radio graphical findings (Kellgren and Lawrence Grades 2-4):
  • with unilateral knee pain or bilateral knee pain;
  • in chronic stage (pain of at least 6 month's duration);
  • with rated knee pain >40 mm on a visual analog scale (VAS; 0 to 100 mm) within 7 days;
  • with X-ray or other radiographic reports are preferable (not necessary);
  • who volunteer to participate and sign the consent form;
  • able to write and read Chinese.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are unable to walk;
  • with serious infection of knee;
  • with suspected tears of ligaments, menisci or acute inflammation of synovial capsule;
  • with trauma, ligament damage, fracture, or surgery on the knee(s) within 6 months, as the cause of pain or functional problems (history of knee replacement will be excluded);
  • with history of local tumor/malignancy at knee;
  • with physical or laboratory findings indicating infection, presence of autoimmune disease or inflammatory arthritis;
  • with knee pain caused by radiculopathy / herniation of intervertebral disc;
  • with end-stage of diseases and other suspected severe conditions such as deep vein thrombosis of the lower limb, edema related to cancer or cancer treatment, severe blood coagulation disorders, uncontrolled systemic arterial hypertension and severe diabetes;
  • with history of prolotherapy, with injections of hyaluronic acid or cortisone within 3 months;
  • received acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, Tui-na therapy, massage, physiotherapy for 8 weeks prior to the trial;
  • with more severe pain in other regions;
  • have severe mental disorders;
  • oversensitive to needles;
  • insensitive to pain due to advanced diabetes, neuropathy or using strong painkillers;
  • fail to be complaint with the treatment protocol.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Sinew acupuncture
Subject in the arm will receive real acupuncture intervention.
Other: Sinew acupuncture
Sinew acupuncture: subject will sit on chair with knee joint flexion with a most comfortable angle nearest to 90 degrees. Acupoints (1-2cm away from the point of tenderness or pain) near the knee will be punctured through the skin by using sterile needles of size 0.30mm × 40mm at the angle of 0-10 degrees pointing along the pain direction and meridian sinew. Immediately, needles will be retreated back just under the skin and inserted 10mm-20mm forward smoothly with minimal pain sensation. Walking and stepping will be advised and governed during acupuncture. The acupoint will be covered with non-allergic bandages to ensure sufficient blinding to the subject. The treatment will last 20 minutes for each session.
Sham Comparator: Sham acupuncture
Subject in the arm will receive sham acupuncture intervention.
Other: Sham acupuncture
Sham acupuncture: subject will receive the same procedures as the sinew acupuncture without penetrating the skin. The needle will be used to puncture on the acupoint slightly without passing through the skin. The acupoint will be covered with non-allergic bandages to ensure sufficient blinding to the subject.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain intensity measured by VAS
Time Frame: Week 4
Pain intensity will be measured by VAS
Week 4

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
WOMAC
Time Frame: Weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 10
Western Ontario and McMasters University Osteoarthritis Index
Weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 10
TUG
Time Frame: Weeks 0, 2, 4, 6 and 10
Timed up and go test
Weeks 0, 2, 4, 6 and 10
8-step SCT
Time Frame: Weeks 0, 2, 4, 6 and 10
Stair Climb Test
Weeks 0, 2, 4, 6 and 10
Quality of life measured by SF-36
Time Frame: Weeks 0, 4, and 10
Short Form-36
Weeks 0, 4, and 10

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
The University of Hong Kong

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Kwok Yin Au, PhD, The Hong Kong Tuberculosis Association Chinese Medicine Clinic cum Training Centre of the University of Hong Kong

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 30, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 30, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 28, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 31, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 4, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 13, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 11, 2018

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • UHongKong-UW16-2007

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Undecided

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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