Evaluating “Comparing the Effects of Massage Therapy and Aromatherapy on Knee Pain, Morning Stiffness, Daily Life Function, and Quality of Life in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis”

Abstract

Dear Editor, We are very happy to read this article named “Comparing the Effects of Massage Therapy and Aromatherapy on Knee Pain, Morning Stiffness, Daily Life Function, and Quality of Life in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis” [1]. The study confirmed that massage can effectively improve the quality of life of patients with knee osteoarthritis. This provides clinicians with good health advice. We greatly appreciate the author’s research. If the research design can be improved, then the research power will be stronger. The authors used simple randomization for patient assignments. Although simple randomization is inexpensive and easy to implement, it is easy to trigger imbalances in terms of important baseline[2]. Furthermore, simple randomization may lead to i=imbalances in the number of participants randomized for each group [3]. In a small samples trial, simple randomization is not a good option for the trial. Blocked randomization may be a better choice for a small sample trial, for example, this study. On the other hand, authors should report the basis for the calculation of sample size according to the CONSORT statement [4]. The authors should consider the balance between medicine and statistics, which will be a bridge of scientific study and ethical requirements. The authors did not disclose how they determined the sample size, so we cannot evaluate whether the study reached a reasonable balance.