Reinhold T, Witt CM, Jena S, Brinkhaus B, Willich SN.
To assess quality of life (QoL), costs, and cost-effectiveness of acupuncture treatment plus routine care versus routine care alone in osteoarthritis patients, a randomised, controlled trial was conducted in 255 general practices in Germany. Four hundred and eighty-nine patients with chronic pain due to osteoarthritis of the knee or hip were included to evaluated QoL and costs at baseline and after 3 months using health insurance funds data and standardized questionnaires. Patients receiving acupuncture had an improved QoL associated with significantly higher costs over the 3 months treatment period compared to routine care alone
In conclusion, acupuncture was a cost-effective treatment strategy in patients with chronic osteoarthritis pain.
Acupuncture for osteoarthritis
The World Health Organization has identified more than 40 conditions that acupuncture can treat, including osteoarthritis. Acupuncture involves the insertion of hair-thin needles into acupoints in the body. It is believed to rebalance the flow of energy, or qi, in the body. Studies have found that acupuncture releases natural pain-relieving substances such as endorphins and serotonin.
A study involving 294 people with osteoarthritis knee pain found that after eight weeks of treatment, participants who had acupuncture experienced a significant improvement in pain and joint function compared to those who had sham acupuncture or placebo.
A new guideline on the care and management of osteoarthritis has recently been published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, and makes wide-ranging and authoritative recommendations. The guideline states that there is insufficient evidence to recommend acupuncture.source :BMJ
If you have knee osteoarthritis:
Walk, don't run. Manage your pain by staying active. Focus on low-impact aerobic fitness exercises (e.g., walking, biking, water aerobics).
Do joint range-of-motion and flexibility exercises every day to limit stiffness and prevent joint loss of motion. Strengthen your leg
muscles, especially the quadriceps muscle along the front of the knee.Find a support group, even if it's someone who calls you on the phone each week to see how you are doing and to encourage you to stick with
your self-care program.Lose weight if your body mass index (BMI) is more than 25. Maintain that weight loss through proper nutrition and regular exercise.
Taping your knee may be a low cost way to reduce pain and improve function.
If you have medial compartmental arthritis (affecting just the side of the knee joint closest to the other knee), don't use shoes that have a built-in lateral heel wedge or lateral insoles. In this case, lateral means along the outside edge of the foot or shoe. These shoe adaptations shift the weight on to the medial aspect of the joint and make the problem worse.( JAAOS)
Both my parents have osteoarthritis. My back is really painful. Could this be from osteoarthritis too?