AIM: To observe the outcome of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combining with rehabilitation training impacting the early postoperative pain, swelling and knee joint function in patients who accept arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, and compare with the effect of single rehabilitation training. METHODS: (1) A total of 32 inpatients (19 males and 13 females) who signed informed consents and underwent arthroscopic ACL reconstruction at the Department of Knee Joint, Sichuan Provincial Orthopaedic Hospital were randomly divided into two groups (A, B) by single blind method, 16 patients in each. (2) In group A, the patients accepted TCM combining rehabilitation training. On the operation day, routine rehabilitation training was conducted in toes, ankle joint and quadriceps femoris contraction, continuously until post-operative half a year, and the intensity increased with the time extended. Between 8 hours and 7 weeks post-operative, TCM treatment was performed along with rehabilitation training: The patients administrated orally knee injury prescription 1 (coptis root, baikal skullcap root, dandelion, achyranthes root, common turmeric root and rhubarb), one preparation daily and three times taken, during 8 hours and 2 to 4 days post-operative. On post-operative 2 days, finger massage was done in Zusanli (ST36), Yanglingquan (GB34) and Sanyinjiao (SP6), 15 seconds for each acupoint, 10 minutes daily. On post-operative 3 days, the finger massage and electro-acupuncture (EA, 80 times per minute) was conducted alternatively in Zusanli (ST36), Yinglingquan (GB34) and Yinlingquan (SP9). On post-operative 4 days, finger massage was performed in Zusanli (ST36), Yanglingquan (GB4), Yinlingquan (SP9), Sanyinjiao (SP6) and Chengshan (BL57) along with the same EA treatment as above. During the post-operative 5 to 11 days, the patients administrated orally knee injury prescription 2 (peach seed, Chinese angelica, red peony root, medicinal cyathula root, akebia stem, teasel root, common bletilla tuber, nutgrass galingale rhizome and coptis root), one preparation taken by three times daily, continuously for 7 days, meanwhile the finger massage and EA treatment was done same as above. From the post-operative 12 days, the patients administrated orally knee injury prescription 2 (membranous milkvetch root, tangshen, earth-worm, akabia stem, desertliving cistanche, dodder seed, Chinese taxillue twig, obscured homalomena rhizome and flowering quince fruit), one preparation taken by three times daily. Meanwhile the finger massage and EA treatment was done same as above. At post-operative 4 to 7 weeks, TCM was given symptomatically combining with finger massage. At post-operative 8 to 12 weeks, exercise muscle power was strengthened. During post-operative 12 weeks and 6 months, all the functions recovered. In group B: The patients accepted only rehabilitation training after operation, identically as above. 3 At pre-operation, and 3, 7, 14 days and 3 months after operation, the pain at rest and activity were evaluated quantifiedly by visual analogue scale (VAS), indolent as 0 and server painful as 10.0. 4 At post-operative 3, 4 and 17 days, the swelling was detected with knee joint cavity puncture and fluid extracts. 5 At pre-operation, and post-operative 7, 14 days and 3 months, the range of motion (ROM) was measured with joint angle finder. At pre-operation and 3 months after operation, knee joint function was assayed with Lysholm scale by interrogative mode (totally 100 scores, and the higher score indicated the better knee function). 6 The symptom, knee joint function and motor function of patients were detected with International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC)-2000 scale (integral score method, 1 on behalf of minimum level of function or most severe symptom, and the higher score implied the better function and the slighter symptom). 7 The difference of measurement data were compared with t test. RESULTS: Totally 32 patients of ACL reconstruction were involved into the result analysis. (1) At post-operative 3 and 7 days, the pain levels of patients at rest and activity in group A were obviously lower than group B (p < 0.05), especially at post-operative 14 days, the pain at activity obviously decreased (p < 0.05). (2) At post-operative 7 days and 3 months, ROM in group A was prior to that of group B (p < 0.05). (3) The difference of the knee swelling at the 3, 7 and 14 days after operation was not significant between two groups (p > 0.05). (4) The scores of knee joint function were markedly higher at 3 months after operation than at pre-operation, and also markedly higher in group A than in group B (p < 0.05). (5) There was insignificant difference in the scores of IKDC-2000 scale between two groups at pre-operation and post-operative 3 months (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: After ACL reconstruction, early TCM combing rehabilitation training can relieve the postoperative pain and swelling of patients, and improve the function of knee joint, with the prior effect compared with single rehabilitation training.

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