Observation on the Clinical Efficacy of Electroacupuncture in Treating Medial Proliferative Scar of the Patella after Surgery for Patellar Instability

Huwei Bian

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¹ Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology 5, Changzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Changzhou 213000, Jiangsu, China,

BAS 2025 , 3(5), 29–36; https://doi.org/10.26689/bas.v3i5.12619

© 2025 by the Authors. Licensee Whioce Publishing, Singapore. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Abstract

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture in treating medial proliferative scar of the patella after surgery for patellar instability. Methods: A total of 38 patients with medial proliferative scar of the patella after surgery for patellar instability were selected from the outpatient follow-up clinic of the Sports Medicine Department at Changzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital from March 2022 to December 2024. They were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, with 19 patients in each group. The control group was treated with simple acupuncture, targeting the Ashi points around the medial scar of the patella, as well as Xuehai, Liangqiu, Zusanli, and Yanglingquan. The technique of even reinforcement and reduction was applied, with the needles retained for 30 minutes, twice a week for 4 consecutive weeks. The observation group, in addition to the acupuncture treatment used in the control group, had two pairs of adjacent acupoints in the scar area connected to an electroacupuncture device, with electrical stimulation applied for 30 minutes. The treatment frequency was the same as that of the control group. The Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) score, Kujala patellofemoral joint function score, and clinical efficacy were compared between the two groups before and after treatment. Results: After 4 weeks of treatment, both groups showed a significant decrease in the total VSS score and scores in each dimension compared to before treatment (p < 0.05), along with a significant increase in the Kujala score (p < 0.05). The degree of improvement in the observation group was superior to that in the control group (p < 0.05). The total effective rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Electroacupuncture is significantly effective in treating medial proliferative scar of the patella after surgery for patellar instability. It can synergistically improve the appearance of the scar and the function of the knee joint, outperforming simple acupuncture.

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