雷火灸联合中药塌渍对膝关节骨性关节炎患者功能和疼痛的影响OA

Objective To investigate the effects of thunder-fire moxibustion combined with Chinese herbal wet compress on function and pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis(KOA).Methods A total of 106 KOA patients admitted from March 2021 to December 2025 were enrolled and randomly di-vided into thunder-fire moxibustion group(n=53,receiving routine rehabilitation nursing plus thun-der-fire moxibustion)and combined intervention group(n=53,receiving routine rehabilitation nurs-ing plus thunder-fire moxibustion combined with Chinese herbal wet compress)at a 1∶1 ratio.Both groups received a 4 week intervention.The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score(KOOS),knee range of motion(flexion and extension),kinematical parameters[vastus medialis/medial gas-trocnemius(VM/MG)and vastus medialis/semitendinosus(VM/ST)],inflammatory cytokines[in-terleukin(IL)-1β and IL-18]levels,and safety were compared between the two groups before and after intervention.Results After intervention,all KOOS subscale scores increased in both groups,with significantly higher scores in the combined intervention group than in the thunder-fire moxibustion group(P＜0.001).Knee flexion angle increased in both groups after intervention,and the com-bined intervention group showed a significantly greater flexion angle than the thunder-fire moxibus-tion group(P＜0.05);knee extension angle decreased in both groups after intervention,and the combined intervention group had a significantly smaller extension angle than the thunder-fire moxi-bustion group(P＜0.001).The VM/MG and VM/ST during the early-,mid-,and late-stance phases decreased in both groups after intervention,and the combined intervention group exhibited significantly lower ratios at all three stance phases compared with the thunder-fire moxibustion group(P＜0.05).Levels of IL-1 β and IL-18 decreased in both groups after intervention,with significant-ly lower levels in the combined intervention group than in the thunder-fire moxibustion group(P＜0.05).During the intervention period,one case of dizziness and one case of local burning sensation occurred in the thunder-fire moxibustion group,and one case of local pruritus occurred in the com-bined intervention group;the difference in total incidence of adverse events between the two groups was not statistically significant(P＞0.05).Conclusion This study innovatively evaluates the ap-plication value of thunder-fire moxibustion combined with Chinese herbal wet compress on the basis of routine rehabilitation nursing and preliminarily explores its potential mechanism in improving KOA function by regulating muscular cocontraction and inflammatory response.Thunder-fire moxibustion combined with Chinese herbal wet compress can safely and effectively alleviate pain symptoms and inflammatory response,and improve knee joint function,range of motion,and muscular cocontrac-tion ability in KOA patients.