“In the field of early treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), the research team used magnetic resonance (MR) T2 mapping imaging technology to deeply explore the effect of warm acupuncture and moxibustion on cartilage degeneration and repair in rabbits. The experimental results show that warm acupuncture and moxibustion can significantly reduce the T2 value in the articular cartilage of early KOA rabbits, which is closely related to the reduction of the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and MMP-13 protein in the extracellular matrix of cartilage. This finding not only confirmed the value of T2 value in evaluating warm acupuncture and moxibustion for repairing early cartilage degeneration in KOA rabbits, but also provided a new research direction and solution in this field. This study not only helps us to gain a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of KOA, but also provides new ideas and methods for the early treatment of KOA.”