KNEE ARTHRITIS - General principles of managing Osteoarthritis of the knee :
Acupuncture and OA of the knee - STUDY RESULTS - - Posted by hmaxwell (Heather M.), 21 December 2004
Following is a copy of text of a story run by CNN, reporting on the results of a blind clinical trial to see if acupuncture helped with pain and movement problems related to osteoarthritis of the knee.
It did! I've known this for some time, and acupuncture has a lot of other uses for those of us with knee issues. It's nice to see some rigorous scientific study to back up subjective test results.
NOTE: I strongly recommend finding a medical doctor who is trained in acupuncture as part of an integrated program. My acupuncturist is a trained MD (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitiation specialist) and she uses acupuncture as one of several very useful tools for reducing my pain and swelling. Subjectively speaking, I can't speak highly enough of her and her techniques. However, if I just went to an acupuncturist who didn't have any other medical background, I'm not sure if I would get the same results--I may be about to find out, as I'm now 2 hours away from my PM doctor and not able to do regular treatments like I should.
Heather
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/conditions/12/21/arthritis.acupuncture.ap/index.html
Quote:Study: Acupuncture helps arthritis pain
Trial shows treatment helped relieve pain, impairment
Tuesday, December 21, 2004 Posted: 1443 GMT (2243 HKT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The ancient Chinese therapy of acupuncture can help ease pain and improve movement for people with arthritis of the knee, a new study concludes.
"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," said Dr. Stephen E. Straus, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
"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," Straus said in a statement.
In the largest clinical study of acupuncture reported to date, researchers studied 570 patients age 50 and over with osteoarthritis of the knee. The multi-location study was led by Dr. Brian M. Berman of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.
Acupuncture involves inserting thin needles into specific body points to stimulate the body and improve health and well-being.
The patients all reported significant pain in their knee the month before joining the study, but had never experienced acupuncture, had not had knee surgery in the previous six months and had not used steroid or similar injections.
The participants were divided into three groups -- 190 received acupuncture, 191 underwent sham acupuncture and 189 followed the Arthritis Foundation's self-help course for managing their condition.
The patients also continued to receive standard medical care from their primary physicians, including anti-inflammatory medications and pain relievers.
In both the sham and true acupuncture procedures, a screen prevented patients from seeing the knee treatment area and learning which treatment they received. In the sham acupuncture group needle guides and needles were taped to the skin so the patients would feel some sensation, but the needles were not actually inserted.
The researchers said that by week eight patients receiving acupuncture began showing a significant increase in function and by week 14 a significant decrease in pain, compared with the sham and control groups.
Overall, the scientists said, those who received acupuncture had a 40 percent decrease in pain and a nearly 40 percent improvement in function.
"This trial, which builds upon our previous NCCAM-funded research, establishes that acupuncture is an effective complement to conventional arthritis treatment and can be successfully employed as part of a multidisciplinary approach to treating the symptoms of osteoarthritis," said Berman.
The results were reported in Monday's issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
The research was supported by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease.
Posted by hmaxwell (Heather M.), 21 December 2004
PS Maybe this will be some comfort to those of us who are looking at losing our Celebrex and/or Naprosyn (Aleve, Naproxen Sodium, etc) due to fear-based journalism and liability and lawyers drumming up class action lawsuits.
For what it's worth, my PM doctor is not concerned about me taking the lowest effective dose of Celebrex (200mg once per day), as long as I don't have ANY alcohol (man do I miss cosmopolitans and margaritas and beer--I didn't have them often, but I did enjoy them with a meal out, a nice and spicy batch of nachos, etc. Sigh). This may not be the right choice for everyone! Please see your doctor with any concerns, but understand that the study data regarding Celebrex and Naprosyn is NOWHERE NEAR complete, nor is it enough to decide to stop prescribing it--i.e. the benefits outweight the risks in the generally healthy population. If you have risk factors for heart disease or stroke, then it may be another matter altogether. I was given the option of going back on Motrin, which doesn't impact me negatively. But it's nowhere NEAR as effective as my Celebrex. I literally am able to walk without having knife-sharp pains in my knee ever step, all because of Celebrex. Yes, I still have significant pain...but it goes up by several notches when I go off Celebrex, as I have to do with each surgery.....
Heather
Posted by Quill (Quill), 29 December 2004
Hi Heather!
It was good to see you there when I did a search re acupuncture. Hope you had a good holiday.
I am considering acupuncture as an addition to Halygan shots in both knees, trying to get by a bit longer before having the pfr. It looks like I'll need it bilaterally. I can't imagine doing them both at once and the prospect of two successive ops is daunting as well.
Where do they insert the needles? I had acupuncture for my neck before having disk surgery and they put the needles in between my fingers, among other places. It wasn't effective that time but I'm willing to give it another try. Maybe I didn't have the best practitioner.
Wishing you a great New Year.
Nancy S.
Updated Fri Jan 9 2009