근위취혈에 적용한 초음파가 무릎관절염 환자의 통증 및삶의 질에 미치는 영향: 후향적 차트리뷰

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the therapeutic efficacy of ultrasound therapy applied to proximal acupuncturepoints, integrating the principles of traditional Korean medicine with contemporary medical technology. Methods: Aretrospective chart review was conducted on patients with knee osteoarthritis who underwent treatment twice weeklyfor a minimum duration of four weeks. The patients were divided into two groups: one received ultrasound therapycombined with low-frequency electrical stimulation at the proximal acupuncture points, while the other group receivedlow-frequency electrical stimulation alone. The clinical outcomes were evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale(VAS),the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and the 36-Item Short Form HealthSurvey(SF-36). Paired t-tests were conducted for within-group analyses, whereas independent t-tests were employedfor between-group comparisons. Results: Both groups demonstrated significant improvements in the VAS, WOMAC, andthe Physical Component Summary (PCS) of the SF-36; however, no significant improvement was observed in the MentalComponent Summary (MCS). Between-group comparisons revealed that all the outcome measures, with the exceptionof MCS, exhibited statistically significant differences favoring the combined therapy group. Conclusion: The applicationof ultrasound therapy to proximal acupuncture points may serve as an effective adjunctive treatment to low-frequencyelectrical stimulation. The study supports the potential of ultrasound therapy as a noninvasive and safe adjunctivetreatment strategy for patients with knee osteoarthritis.