A German study published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism examined the effectiveness of acupuncture in people with chronic hip and knee pain due to osteoarthritis.
Patients were randomized to receive either 15 sessions of acupuncture in a three month period or they went on a waiting list. After the 3 months, about a third of the patients who received acupuncture reported less joint pain and better quality of life, compared to 6% in the waiting list control group. The results continued for three months after acupuncture treatment ended.
The study had some limitations though. No patients received "sham" or fake acupuncture, which would have been a useful comparison. A large trial published earlier this year found that while real acupuncture was more effective than no acupuncture, sham acupuncture was also effective.
Related Articles: Source: Witt CM, Jena S, Brinkhaus B, Liecker B, Wegscheider K, Willich SN. Acupuncture in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip: A randomized, controlled trial with an additional nonrandomized arm. Arthritis Rheum. 2006 Oct 30;54(11):3485-3493
Patients were randomized to receive either 15 sessions of acupuncture in a three month period or they went on a waiting list. After the 3 months, about a third of the patients who received acupuncture reported less joint pain and better quality of life, compared to 6% in the waiting list control group. The results continued for three months after acupuncture treatment ended.
The study had some limitations though. No patients received "sham" or fake acupuncture, which would have been a useful comparison. A large trial published earlier this year found that while real acupuncture was more effective than no acupuncture, sham acupuncture was also effective.
Related Articles: Source: Witt CM, Jena S, Brinkhaus B, Liecker B, Wegscheider K, Willich SN. Acupuncture in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip: A randomized, controlled trial with an additional nonrandomized arm. Arthritis Rheum. 2006 Oct 30;54(11):3485-3493
Enjoyed your article on using acupuncture for knee pain. Also, glad to see you blogging. I have found it very useful.
Why is it that articles on arthritis treatment never suggest treatments that are helpful to those of us with painful knuckles? I do have some arthritic symptoms in hips, etc., but the pain in my affected knuckles is so severe as to be debilitating…I can barely hold a pen to sign my name without agony. What treatments are best for this type of arthritis?