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Arthritis Pain Relief with acupuncture
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Arthritis pain has never been easy to treat and arthritis symptoms have often been managed by the use of possibly toxic or unpalatable arthritis medication. Acupuncture can provide an alternative arthritis remedy for many pain sufferers |
Acupuncture is a useful way of obtaining arthritis pain relief for many patients. Arthritis treatment by acupuncture is described below.
Arthritis pain relief with acupuncture - what is acupuncture?
Acupuncture has been used to relieve arthritis pain in traditional Chinese medicine for many thousands of years. It has recently become a widely used technique in western medicine – both by doctors and others. Acupuncture claims good results in the treatment of arthritis pain. Arthritis pain relief and joint pain relief are among the most common reasons for using acupuncture in Western countries. Many people who suffer from osteoathritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, degenerative arthritis and gout seek pain relief from acupuncture – either alongside, or instead of, their arthritis medication or other arthritis treatment.
Acupuncture involves the insertion of very fine needles into several points around the body. These acupuncture points are often near to the site of your arthritis pain and may be very tender to touch before the needle is inserted. Other acupuncture points used for arthritis pain relief may be quite a way distant from the affected joint – acupuncturists usually call these areas “distal points.” It depends on the particular style of practice used by your acupuncturists but you should expect to have anything between two and twenty needles inserted each time you go for treatment
Most arthritis pain sufferers need from three to six treatment sessions before they begin to get relief.
The needles are extremely fine – not much wider than a human hair – and are often left in your skin for more than twenty minutes during a treatment session.
There is no way to predict how much arthritis pain relief you will get from acupuncture – it really is a matter of “try it and see what happens!”
There are two views on how acupuncture works to relieve arthritis pain – the traditional Chinese view and the western scientific view.
Traditional Chinese Acupuncture
Traditional Chinese medicine is based on the belief that an essential life force called qi ("chee") flows through the body along channels called meridians. These meridians are like rivers that irrigate the body and nourish its tissues. Any obstruction along one of the meridians is like a dam that blocks the vital energy flow, creating pain and disease. “Obstructions” to the free flow of energy in these meridians is said to be caused by injury or scar tissue along the line of the meridian or it can be due to a problem in the internal organ where the meridian starts its course. Many western trained doctors find these ideas of how the body works very alien to their way of thinking. Nevertheless, applying the Chinese principles and choosing the needle points accordingly often seems to help arthritis pain sufferers.
The Chinese medical system believes that inserting acupuncture needles along the line of the “blocked meridian” will release the dammed up “chee” energy and thus relieve the pain that it is causing.
A Chinese medicine doctor will often spend a long time taking your pulse and examining your tongue to help him or her arrive at your Chinese medical diagnosis.
Western “Scientific” Acupuncture
Western doctors have not been able to prove the existence of meridians (but note – they haven't disproved them either!). The path of the Chinese meridians does not correspond to any known nerve or blood vessel path in our body.
Western research has focussed most on the changes that acupuncture can make to our nervous system. Science has discovered that stimulation of certain skin or muscle areas by fine needles can cause the release of large amounts of endorphins or bradykinins. Endorphins and bradykinins are the bodies own natural pain killers and anti-inflammatory agents respectively. Research on humans and on animals has shown that acupuncture is able to relieve pain and suppress inflammation.
The research studies that show chemical release and suppression of inflammation are only laboratory theoretical studies. It has been very difficult to create large research studies on acupuncture treatment of arthritis pain conditions. Most of the studies that have been done have shown inconclusive results – one or two of them suggest that acupuncture does not have any significant benefit. The many arthritis pain patients who have obtained significant arthritis pain relief from acupuncture treatment counteract this however. In 1997 a consensus statement from the National Institutes of Health listed several conditions, including osteoathritis, for which acupuncture "may be useful" when combined with standard medical care.
The simple advice is: try it and see how it works for you.
How is acupuncture used in arthritis pain relief?
Your first acupuncture session may last about an hour and subsequent appointments are often shorter in length. From two to twenty very thin needles are put in place and left there for several minutes. Having needles stuck in your body may not sound like fun but most people say there's only a slight stinging sensation as the needles enter, and no pain at all after that. Your therapist may stimulate the needles by turning or rotating them quickly during your treatment session.
Acupuncture needles are very thin and solid with a smooth point and having them inserted may not be as uncomfortable as getting an immunisation having blood taken for a blood test. The number of sessions needed varies. Long-standing and complex chronic pain problems like arthritis might need one or two treatments a week for several months.
Most people do not experience side effects from acupuncture therapy but a few of us can have problems such as bleeding or infection. Some people who have never experienced acupuncture may feel dizzy after their first acupuncture treatment
Acupuncture “add on” treatments
Some acupuncture therapists feel that the results they get are enhanced if they connect a small electric current to the tip of the needles while they are in your skin. This is called Electro-acupuncture.
Others will use local heat and will burn a small amount of a Chinese herb called moxa on the end of the needle – your skin will not be burned. This technique is known as “moxibustion.”
Lastly – it is now quite common for small heated glass cups to be placed over acupuncture points on the back or abdomen. As they cool these cups create a vacuum and stimulate the underlying acupuncture point. This is called “Cupping.”
As with any complimentary therapy, you should consult your doctor if you're considering acupuncture for the relief of arthritis pain. He or she may choose to recommend it as part of your regular medical treatment. Your doctor may also refer you to a qualified practitioner.
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