BACKGROUND: The pain of knee joint in the paralyzed leg of hemiplegic patients after stroke will affect the training of standing and walking, and delay the proceeding of rehabilitation.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effective method for relieving pain of knee osteoarthritis and improving the function of lower limbs in hemiplegic patients after stroke.DESIGN: A randomized controlled study.SETTING: Department of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Anhui Provincial Corps Hospital, Chinese Peoples Armed Police Forces.PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-eight hemiplegic patients after stroke with knee osteoarthritis were selected from the Department of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Anhui Provincial Corps Hospital, Chinese Peoples Armed Police Forces from January 2003 to December 2006, including 11 males and 17 females, aged 47 -77 years, they all conformed to the diagnostic criteria of stroke set by the Fourth National Academic Meeting for Cerebrovascular Disease in 1995, as well as the diagnostic standards of knee osteoarthritis. Informed consents were obtained from all the patients and their relatives.METHODS: The 28 patients were randomly divided into treatment group (n =14) and control group (n =14).All patients had received facilitative technique training, such as normal motor pattern exercising and knee joint control exercising after hospitalization, besides, the patients in the treatment group received an extra complex therapy of electro-acupuncture therapy, physical therapy and exercise therapy, once a day, and 10 days as a course.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The evaluation and effectiveness of the visual analogue scale (VAS) and Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) score of lower limbs function before and after therapy in the two groups.RESULTS: ① VAS results: The score of pain evaluation in the treatment group after therapy was significantly lower than that in the control group (P ＜ 0.01), and the effectiveness of the treatment group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P ＜ 0.01). ② FMA score of lower limbs motor function:There were no significant differences between the two groups before and after therapy (P ＞ 0.05).CONCLUSION: The complex therapy of electro-acupuncture therapy, physical therapy, and exercise therapy based on facilitative technique training is effective in relieving pain of knee osteoarthritis in hemiplegic patients after stroke, but it is similar to the single rehabilitative training in improving the function of lower limbs.