Anesth Pain Med.  2009 Jul;4(3):221-225.

Subcutaneous botulinum toxin type a injection for chronic medial knee pain with ostheoarthritis

• Ahn K
• Jhun HJ
• Lee YJ
• Kim EH
• Lim TK
• Lee S

Abstract

BACKGROUND:This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of subcutaneous Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) injection for treating chronic medial knee pain with osteoarthritis.
METHODS
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted at a university hospital in Korea.The subjects suffering from chronic medial knee pain with osteoarthritis were randomly allocated to either the BoNT-A (treatment, n = 23) group or the normal saline (placebo, n = 27) group.Injections were given to 10 points per unilateral knee along the course of the saphenous nerve.A total of 90 units of BoNT-A (60 units at baseline and 30 units after 1 week) was given for treating unilateral knee pain and a total of 180 units of BoNT-A was given for treating bilateral knee pain.The placebo group received the same volume of normal saline.
RESULTS
The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain score was significantly decreased in both the BoNT-A and normal saline groups 1, 4 and 12 weeks after injection.After adjusting for covariates, BoNT-A had a 0.788 times higher effect to decrease the VAS score than did normal saline, but the effect was marginally significant (P = 0.050).
CONCLUSIONS
Subcutaneous injection along the course of the saphenous nerve significantly reduces chronic medial knee pain. The pain reduction effect of BoNT-A is higher than that of placebo, but the effect is marginally significant

Keyword

botulinum toxin; clinical trial; knee pain

MeSH Terms

Botulinum Toxins
Botulinum Toxins, Type A
Knee
Osteoarthritis
Stress, Psychological
Botulinum Toxins
Botulinum Toxins, Type A