Participants
Pain, MTrPs, KOA, primary KOA, knee pain
DYSFUNCTION
A total of 166 participants were assessed for eligibility. Among them, 98 patients with KOA confirmed by radiographic analysis were recruited from the Rehabilitation Department in Shangti Injury Orthopedic and Department of Pain Management, Huadong Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, All of the patients refused to undergo any surgery and signed the informed consent forms. The CONSORT flow diagram for the RCT to study the effects of dry needling on MTrPs versus oral diclofenac in patients with KOA is illustrated in Fig. Flowchart of the study participants To be eligible, participants had to satisfy the following clinical criteria:The inclusion criteria were participants aged 55 years or older with knee pain and uni- or bilateral dysfunction, primary KOA fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology criteria for clinical and Kellgren-Lawrence grades II, III, and IV upon radiographic classification [