RESEARCH - Study suggests acupuncture may not help knee arthritis pain

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Study Suggests Acupuncture May Not Help Knee Arthritis Pain

Arthritis Today

By

02 Sep 2010

A new study suggests that compared to a placebo, acupuncture may not

be helpful for treating knee osteoarthritis pain.

“It might be disappointing, but data is data. And I think it’s better

to know the truth,” says lead author Suarez-Almazor, MD, PhD,

chief of rheumatology at the MD Cancer Center in Houston. “My

patients – I don’t tell them not to do it. If they ask me, what I’ll

tell them is the studies don’t show there’s a lot of benefit. And if

there is, it’s quite small. However we know that acupuncture is quite

safe, so if you want to try it, by all means try it.”

Acupuncture is used by many people with osteoarthritis, or OA, and it

involves using thin needles to stimulate specific points on the body

in hopes of removing blockages to channels of energy known as

meridians.

Traditional Chinese medical experts believe this will allow energy to

flow properly through the body, leading to a balanced state.

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Read the entire article here:

http://www.arthritistoday.org/news/acupuncture-knee-arthritis-pain079.php

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