Functional Brain Imaging - Acupuncture and Osteoarthritis

Inclusion criteria:

• Seen in an outpatient clinical setting
• Have active knee OA of >6 months including Kellgren x-ray changes >2 from an x-ray report <12 months old or new x-ray interpretation
• Moderate unilateral only pain (average >4/10 on a 0-10 likert scale) for more than 5 out of 7 days
• Have the capacity to understand the requirements of the study and complete the baseline studies in a reasonable time frame, as determined by the interviewer

Exclusion criteria:

• Having had acupuncture before (must be acupuncture naïve)
• Any history of claustrophobia that could affect the subject's ability to tolerate the f-MRI study
• Hip or ankle disease by history or exam severe enough to cause pain >2/10 daily
• Bleeding disorder or current use of warfarin or heparin by patient history
• Other primary causes of chronic knee pain, per the referring physician, including chondromalacia patella, torn meniscus or ligament injury.