Acupuncture Can Reduce Arthritis Pain

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Acupuncture Can Reduce Arthritis Pain

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MIAMI BEACH, Florida (Reuters Health) Feb 21 - Acupuncture offers a significant

adjunct to conventional therapy in the management of osteoarthritis, according

to the results of an NIH-supported study of complementary medicine in

osteoarthritis pain management presented here at the 17th Annual Meeting of the

American Academy of Pain Medicine.

Although more patients are turning to complementary medicine and more physicians

want to integrate complementary medicine into their practices, evidence for the

efficacy of these methods is lacking, according to Dr. M. Berman,

professor of family medicine and director of the complementary medicine program

at the University of land School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Dr. Berman and colleagues at the University of land conducted a study to

investigate the impact of acupuncture on pain levels in osteoarthritis of the

knees in the elderly. In the first phase, the researchers evaluated 73 patients,

all with moderate to severe osteoarthritis of the knees, who were not relieved

by anti-inflammatory medications. The subjects were randomized to continue on

anti-inflammatory drugs alone or anti-inflammatory drugs plus 8 weeks of

acupuncture treatment.

" We found on the 3-month follow-up that there were significant changes, " Dr.

Berman told Reuters Health. " Acupuncture did reduce their pain, they had less

stiffness and they were able to function better. "

" That encouraged us with the larger study, " he continued. They plan to enroll

570 subjects in a randomized trial of acupuncture for osteoarthritis. In

addition, Dr. Berman also is conducting another NIH-funded study to examine the

efficacy of acupuncture for postoperative dental pain.

http://rheumatology.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2001/02/02.22/20010221clin024.html