Chinese herbal fumigation steam therapy paired with acupuncture in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: A three-armed, randomized, controlled trial

We hypothesized that the addition of Chinese herbal fumigation steam therapy to an acupuncture protocol in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis would yield better results than by acupuncture alone. Outcome measures included, pain, range of motion and health related quality of life. The results showed a significant improvement in reduction of pain with the addition of a full dose Chinese herbal fumigation prescription. The supplemental data was gathered from literature review and used to validate methods and explain, in greater detail, the disease state of knee osteoarthritis that helped the researchers devise the clinical trial protocol. Also, author commentary on the difficulty faced by those investigating Chinese medical interventions within the Western medical Evidence Based Medical system.