Arthritis Alternative Interventions
To help with the prevention and relief of arthritis, prescribe a proactive plan for yourself. Take charge of your lifestyle and see where improvements can be made, like with regards to any of the following, listed in no particular order of importance or affect.
Acupuncture
/ AcupressureAcupuncture or therapeutic 'needle piercing" is the insertion of fine needles into the skin in order to stimulate targeted places in the body, referred to as acupoints. Along with the needles, the acupuncture practitioner also generally applies any of the following to stimulate the points; suction, friction, heat, pressure or electromagnetic energy impulses. The treatment goal is to stimulate the acupoints in order to balance the body’s movement of energy (qi) and restore health. Ask your healthcare provider for practitioner referrals or look in directories under holistic services.
Acupressure, also referred to as Relief with Fingertips, is similar to acupuncture, but uses the hands for healing technique instead of needles and other devices. Depending upon the afflicted area and type of arthritic condition, a combination of knuckles, fingers, thumbs and palm massage techniques are use in the surrounding areas. Note that traditional Chinese described four types of arthritic conditions that work alone or in combinations; wind, cold, heat and damp:
Wind – Presents itself in the body with moving aches and arthritis pains that are worsened by the wind.
Cold – Presents itself with swollen and arthritis painful joints sensitive to fog, rain and high humidity conditions.
Heat – Presents itself in areas reddish in color and inflamed; may feel hot when touched.
Damp – Presents itself with aches during colder, decreasing temperatures and storms, i.e. extreme weather changes.
Consult your healthcare provider for practitioner referrals or look in directories under holistic services for charts and more information.
A review published in 2001 evaluated the results of studies of acupuncture for osteoarthritis of the knee.108 The reviewers found seven studies they rated as meaningful, involving a total of 393 participants. Although not all studies were positive, overall the reviewers concluded that “strong evidence” indicates that acupuncture is more effective for knee arthritis than sham acupuncture.
Benefits have been seen in other forms of osteoarthritis as well. For example, a single-blind, controlled trial of 67 people with osteoarthritis of the hip found that acupuncture significantly improved symptoms, with relief lasting for months after the end of treatment. One small study found acupuncture more effective than advice and exercises for hip arthritis pain. However, yet another study found that insertion of needles at random spots in the general vicinity of the hip was just as effective as traditional acupuncture. Larger trials will be necessary to fully sort out acupuncture’s effectiveness for hip arthritis pain.
Acupuncture for osteoarthritis in various joints as also been compared to anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid injections, and diazepam (Valium) with mixed results.
Read next about Arthritis and Aromatherapy and more....The following sections cover many of the potential routes to the relief of arthritic symptoms from Acupuncture to Zinc.
Some of our products for Arthritis ....
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