Table 1

Time to visit and data collection

	Baseline	Treatment phase		Follow-up phase
	−1 day	0 day	8 weeks	16 weeks	26 weeks
Patients
Informed consent	×
Sign informed consent		×
Medical history	×
Physical examination	×
Randomisation		×
Intervention TCA group (n=21)		24 sessions of TCA
Comparisons MA group (n=21)		24 sessions of MA
Outcomes
WOMAC		×	×	×	×
KOOS		×	×	×	×
VAS		×	×	×	×
SF-12		×	×	×	×
The use of NSAIDs			×	×	×
Participant safety
Adverse events		×	×	×	×

KOOS, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; MA, minimal acupuncture; SF-12, 12-item Short Form Health Survey; TCA, traditional Chinese acupuncture; WOMAC, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index.