ReviewJournal of pain research2026
Interventional Effects of Small Needle-Knife Combined with Exercise Therapy in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Journal of pain research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common degenerative disease. Small needle-knife (SNK) therapy combined with exercise therapy has attracted increasing attention. However, its effectiveness requires further evaluation. Objective: To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of SNK combined with exercise therapy in KOA patients. Methods: Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) comparing small needle-knife (SNK) plus exercise with exercise alone were identified from major databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and others) from inception to March 14, 2025. Primary outcomes included overall treatment efficacy, pain measured by the visual analogue scale (VAS), function assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Lequesne Index, and knee stability assessed by the Lysholm score. Meta-analyses were performed using fixed- or random-effects models according to heterogeneity (I Results: Ten RCTs were included. Results showed that SNK combined with exercise significantly improved clinical efficacy (RR = 1.30; 95% CI [1.19, 2.42]). Compared with exercise alone, combination therapy significantly relieved pain (VAS: MD = -1.64; 95% CI [-2.20, -1.05]), improved function (WOMAC: MD = -14.65; 95% CI [-19.48, -9.83]; Lequesne index: MD = -2.23; 95% CI [-3.59, -0.86]), and enhanced knee stability (Lysholm score: MD = 9.20; 95% CI [1.67, 16.74]). ROB2 assessment showed that 60% of studies had low risk, and 40% had some concerns. All outcome measures were supported by high-quality evidence according to the GRADE framework. Conclusion: The combination of SNK and exercise shows clinically significant improvements in KOA. Nevertheless, additional high-quality studies are required to corroborate these findings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.