Combining traditional Chinese medicine massage with exercise may improve pain relief, muscle activation, and knee awareness for people with knee osteoarthritis.
This single-centre randomised controlled trial assigns adults with knee osteoarthritis to receive either traditional Chinese medicine massage alongside exercise therapy or exercise therapy alone. Researchers will assess pain, knee stiffness and function, mobility, muscle activation using electrical muscle recordings, knee position awareness, treatment satisfaction, adherence, and safety over a twenty-four-week period. Outcome assessors and data analysts will not know participants’ treatment assignments, and analyses will include all assigned participants as well as those who complete treatment as planned.
The study is designed to determine whether massage added to exercise produces better pain outcomes than exercise alone, while also examining effects on physical function, muscular activity, proprioception, satisfaction, and adherence. Its central premise is that massage may reduce pain and muscle fatigue enough to help patients participate more effectively in exercise-based care.
