To study the effect of acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine decoction on knee osteoarthritis and its effect on serum inflammatory pain mediators.

From August 2020 to January 2022，80 patients with knee osteoarthritis in the Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical College were divided into two groups according to the random number table method，40 cases in the control group and 40 cases in the observation group. The control group was treated with fire acupuncture alone，and the treatment group was treated with acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine decoction. After 8 weeks of treatment，the efficacy，the levels of inflammatory factors interleukin-1（IL-1），interleukin-6（IL-6）and tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α），knee joint pain and activity，osteoarthritis index and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups.

The total effective rate of the treatment group was 97.50%（39/40），which was significantly higher than that of the control group（80.00%，32/40），and the difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）. After treatment，the levels of inflammatory factors（IL-1，IL-6，TNF-α）in the two groups were significantly decreased（P<0.001），and the levels in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group（P<0.001）. Before treatment，there was no significant difference in visual analogue scale（VAS），active activity and passive activity between the two groups（P>0.05）. After treatment，the VASscores of the two groups were significantly decreased，and the active activity and passive activity were significantly increased（P<0.001）. The VASscores，active activity and passive activity of the treatment group were significantly better than those of the control group（P<0.05）. There was no significant difference in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index（WOMAC）scores between the two groups before treatment（P>0.05）. After treatment，the WOMAC scores of the two groups decreased significantly（P<0.001），and the WOMAC score of the treatment group was significantly lower than that of the control group（P<0.05）. The incidence of adverse reactions in the treatment group and the control group was 7.50%（3/40）and 10.00%（4/40），and the difference was not statistically significant（P>0.05）.

The curative effect of acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine decoction in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis is significant. It can reduce the levels of inflammatory factors and better relieve the pain of knee joint of knee joint，so as to improve the condition of knee joint.