Background Knee joint osteoarthritis is a chronic disease that affecting the health in aging population. Aim We explore a minimally invasive surgery combining the use of ultrasonic drug penetration to treat early stage of knee joint osteoarthritis. Design and Methods Total 75 patients were participated in acupotomy therapy and ultrasonic drug penetration to treat joint osteoarthritis. The WOMAC (the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index) scores were used to assess the performance. Results There was a significant difference in the WOMAC score between the two groups of patients (P < 0.05). The total performance rate was about 86.4% and 50% in experiment and control group. Conclusion The combination of acupotomy therapy and ultrasonic drug penetration has demonstrated to be effective and promising to treat knee joint osteoarthritis.

Objective We examined whether auricular acupressure (AA) at four specificially preselected AA points can alleviate knee pain and decrease non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) consumption and its adverse effects for osteoarthritis patients. Methods 62 patients (more than 40 years) with knee osteoarthritis of Kellgren–Lawrence grades of I or II upon radiographic classification were enrolled in this randomized, sham-controlled prospective study, and divided into two groups (AA group and control group). The AA group received true AA by embedding vaccaria seeds at four specific AA points (knee joint, shenmen, subcortex, sympathesis) ipsilateral to the knee osteoarthritis site, while the control group received four nonacupuncture points on the auricular helix. Visual analog scale (VAS), the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score, the number of the patients needed celecoxib pills and adverse effects were recorded. Results VAS and WOMAC scores in AA group was significantly lower than that in control group (P < 0.05) at d3 and d7 postsugery. The VAS and WOMAC score were significance decreased after the treatment in AA group compared with that before the treatment (P < 0.05). The use of celebrex is significantly lower in AA group than the control group (P < 0.05), no major side effects were observed during the auricular acupressure treatment. Conclusion Auricular acupressure plays a role in analgesic effect and can effectively decreased NSAIDs requirements without causing adverse events for the treatment of human knee osteoarthritis.