Self-administered Acupressure for Knee Osteoarthritis in Middle- and Older-Aged Adults

Subjects in the self-administered acupressure exercise group will receive two training sessions (2 hours each, 1-week apart). The self-administered acupressure treatment protocol was developed based on Chinese medicine meridian theory by previous studies and modified. The acupoints are indicated for knee pain and have been commonly used and tested for feasibility in pilot study. The training will be conducted in a group format with 4-6 subjects per group. Each subject will then receive a handout and an acupressure log. They will be told to perform the self-acupressure twice per day for 12 weeks.The capability of participants for self-administered acupressure will be inspected by the instructor with a competency checklist in each session. And a demonstration video will be sent to the participants via WhatsApp for their reference at home.

Subjects in the health education control group will receive knowledge related to knee OA symptom management. The health education will be conducted in a talk format for 2 hours for two sessions. The course content is developed from the course materials from the websites of Elderly Health Service, Department of Health, Hong Kong SAR and reviewed. Subjects in knee health education group will be told to follow the knee health instruction for 12 weeks.