Arthritis Pain
Arthritis, a painful condition of the joints, can cause much debility. It can be acute due to injury or infection, but is usually chronic. The chronic form can be due to inflammation, as in rheumatoid or gouty arthritis, or caused by wear and tear on the involved joints, as with the most common form, osteoarthritis. The pain experienced from arthritis can often lead to significant changes in a person’s ability to function, causing limitations in the ability to work, to move about, and interfering with sleep—thus limiting one’s ability to enjoy life. This can lead to depression and isolation.
Traditional Arthritis Treatment
Treatment for arthritis includes heat, massage and exercise, and almost always involves the use of medications. Tylenol is helpful initially, but as arthritis progresses anti-inflammatory medications such as Advil or Aleve are often necessary. In more advanced cases, prescription medications or even surgery might be recommended. These can be helpful, but have the potential for many side effects.
Acupuncture helps relieve Arthritis
Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to help ease the pain and suffering of arthritis. Recently we have begun to take a serious look at this alternative approach here in the US. Several years ago, a large well-documented study was completed at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Over 500 elderly people with moderately severe osteoarthritis causing knee pain were evaluated. They were treated either by acupuncture or placebo, and over 6 months they had 24 treatment sessions while continuing to take their current medications. More than 40% of those treated with acupuncture had a significant decrease in knee pain and increase in functioning, resulting in an increase in their daily activities. The study results were reviewed favorably by the Arthritis Foundation and many arthritis specialists.
Doctors believed that acupuncture helped osteoarthritis by stimulating the release of the body’s own internal pain killers and anti-inflammatory chemicals. They also felt that acupuncture blocked pain signal transmission in the brain, which helped break chronic pain patterns.
With the publication of studies done in the US, many more American physicians are accepting that acupuncture, when added as a complement to traditional treatment, can be helpful to a large number of people with arthritis.
