[Effect of bone-setting manipulation on lower extremity alignment in patients with varus knee osteoarthritis].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of bone setting manipulation on the lower limb alignment in patients with varus knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and to elucidate the underlying therapeutic mechanism. METHODS: A total of 100 patients with KOA who received bone-setting manipulation between October 2022 and October 2023 were enrolled. Among them, there were 24 males and 76 females, the age ranged from 47 to 75 years with a mean age of (62.9±8.2) years and a disease course ranging from 0.25 to 20 years . All patients were treated with bone-setting manipulation on spine, hip joint, knee joint, and ankle joint.The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) was adopted to evaluate knee joint function. Full-length weight-bearing X-rays of both lower extremities were performed on each patient before treatment and 2 weeks after treatment. The changes in the hip-knee-ankle (HKA) angle of both lower extremities at 2 weeks after treatment compared with those before treatment, as well as the changes in the gap between the HKA angles of both lower extremities before treatment and 2 weeks after treatment, were observed and recorded. RESULTS: <0.05). CONCLUSION: Bone-setting manipulation is effective in reducing pain, stiffness, and improving joint function in patients with KOA. The therapeutic mechanism may be due to the correction of the subtle dislocation across the spine, hip, knee, and ankle, thereby reducing bilateral lower limb mechanical axis discrepancies and balancing weight distribution across both knee joints.