OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of mudpack therapy for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis and identify the likely factors associated with the high heterogeneity of combined studies. DESIGN: The Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials in which mudpack therapy was used to treat knee osteoarthritis. RESULTS: Ten publications that reported the results from a total of 1010 subjects were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis of improvement in joint function at the final follow-up visit suggested, given that the follow-up time was less than 4 mos, that the combined effect size of four studies was -0.30 (-0.62 to 0.02) and the difference did not reach the level of statistical significance. When the follow-up time reached 4 mos, the combined effect size was -1.10 (-2.07 to -0.14) and the difference was significant. The I values of the two groups were 21.4% and 93.8%. CONCLUSION: Functional improvement of the knee joint in patients treated with mudpack therapy was not significantly different from that of control subjects at the end of the 4-mo follow-up. The quality of current publications was a factor causing heterogeneity.

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