"Acupuncture seems to help some people, and it appears to be safe. If you're uncomfortable and in pain and you don't want to take medication, acupuncture may be a reasonable approach."
-- Dr. Gary Firestein,
director of the University of California,
San Diego's division of rheumatology, allergy and immunology.

Osteoarthritis
The most common type of arthritis, OA occurs when the tissue (cartilage) covering the end of the bones gradually wears away. This happens with age and overuse and can affect any joint in the body. Without the cushioning protection of the cartilage, the friction of the bones rubbing against each other causes pain and swelling.

Rheumatoid Arthritis
RA is an autoimmune disorder whereby the body's own defence system mistakenly causes inflammation in the joint lining. This causes damage to the neighbouring cartilage and bone.

Combining standard treatment of RA with acupuncture has been found to improve the results of drug treatment.³

Gout
Gout occurs when the body cannot properly excrete a natural substance called uric acid. Excess uric acid creates sharp crystals in the joints (especially the big toe, knee, and wrists) that cause inflammation and severe pain.

Lupus
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease with the body's immune system attacking its own tissues. Symptoms include a rash that resembles a butterfly over the nose and cheeks, joint pain, fatigue, sensitivity to light, headaches, memory problems, and low-grade fever.

Scleroderma
Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease of the skin, joints, and sometimes internal organs. It is a hardening of the skin due to an overproduction of the connective tissues of the body (collagen). Scleroderma can be localized to the skin or become systemic and affect the internal organs.

Treatment
Because each type of arthritis has different causes and symptoms, treatment will vary accordingly.

Arthritis Society acupuncture Link

¹ Prevalence of Self-Reported Arthritis or Chronic Joint Symptoms Among Adults - United States, 2001. MMWR 2002;51(42):948-950
² Vas, J. British Medical Journal, Nov. 20, 2004; vol 329: pp 1216-1219.
³ Zherebkin VV. The use of acupuncture reflexotherapy in treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Lik Sprava 6: 175-7. Nov-Dec 1997

Acupuncture relieves arthritis pain: U.S. study

CTV.ca News Staff

Dec.20, 2004
An American study is providing more evidence that acupuncture works. The study found the ancient treatment relieves arthritis pain in the knee, and improves freedom of movement. Acupuncture is a 2,000-year-old Chinese treatment in which needles are inserted in specific points on the body.

"For the first time, a clinical trial with sufficient rigor, size, and duration has shown that acupuncture reduces the pain and functional impairment of osteoarthritis of the knee," Dr. Stephen Straus, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine told Reuters. The Center helped fund the study.

"These results also indicate that acupuncture can serve as an effective addition to a standard regimen of care and improve quality of life for knee osteoarthritis sufferers."

Researchers studied 574 patients aged 50 or older with osteoarthritis in the knee. All of the patients had significant pain, but had never tried acupuncture or steroids, and hadn't had knee surgery in the past six months.

The subjects received either regular acupuncture treatments, a self-help course for managing pain or sham acupuncture as a placebo. They also continued to receive standard medical care, taking anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers as prescribed.
By the end of the second month of treatment, patients who received regular acupuncture treatments had a significant increase in function.

By the 14th week, those same patients had a significant reduction in pain compared to the other two groups, according to researchers.

During the course of the study, the study participants who received acupuncture had 40 percent less pain and a 40 per cent improvement in function.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says an estimated 2.1 million American adults received acupuncture treatment in 2002.

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