Dr. Mercola November 18 2006 9,197 views
A pair of studies in the same journal (Arthritis and Rheumatism) suggest that acupuncture and an extract of turmeric (a spice found in curry) may both offer significant pain relief to arthritis patients.
A German research team found that a combination of acupuncture and conventional medicine can increase the quality of life of osteoarthritis patients.
Meanwhile, American researchers found that a special turmeric extract, composed largely of chemicals called curcuminoids, can prevent both acute and chronic rheumatoid arthritis.
In experiments on rats, the turmeric extract appeared to block inflammatory pathways associated with rheumatoid arthritis. As for acupuncture, the study of some 3,500 subjects showed that chronic osteoarthritis patients who received it in addition to their more traditional care showed marked improvement, with only 5 percent experiencing minor side effects.
Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis in the United States, is a progressive degeneration of bone cartilage. Rheumatoid arthritis is an immunological disorder leading to painful inflammation of the lining of the joints.
Nearly one in five Americans, a total of 46 million, suffers from some form of arthritis. Another 23 million have undiagnosed chronic joint pain. Some 40 percent of arthritis patients in the United States have turned to alternative medicine to help them with their pain.
This pair of studies underscores the growing interest conventional medicine has in complementary alternative medicine. It's great to see more proof of the seemingly inevitable shift the U.S. health care system is taking from a model based on treating symptoms with expensive drug solutions to one that focuses on the foundational cause of disease.
Many systems utilizing these newly applied natural healing tools, such as acupuncture, naturopathic and chiropractic medicine, focus on health rather than disease. They understand that the absence of disease does not equate to health.
If you've been reading my newsletter for a while, you already know how acupuncture eases the pain associated with tension headaches and curcumin, the yellow compound in turmeric, blocks the development of cancer.
In India, where turmeric is widely used, the prevalence of the top four U.S. cancers -- colon, breast, prostate and lung -- is 10 times lower.
And there's no doubt acupuncture is effective for many health problems; for example, in a recent study electrically stimulated acupuncture lowered blood pressure levels by 50 percent . If you aren't crazy about needles, however, you do have other alternatives that can be just as helpful.
I have found that Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), a needle-free acupressure energy psychology tool that uses the same energy meridians as acupuncture, is a very effective method. I use it in my practice daily, and it can be a powerful means of headache relief.
I tried acupuncture while visiting in China. The Chinese physician aboard the Princess Elaine, cruise ship on the Yangtze River, inserted needles around my knee as well as my hand, the latter of which suffers nerve damage from mixed xylene isomers in a floor stripper (using the wrong gloves, through which the mixed xylene and other VOC's permeated). My knee damage was due to a bad fall, and ultimately resulted in a total knee replacement a couple years later.
The needles felt pretty good during her demonstration to the audience, but the negative pain returned with subsequent applications. She even electrocuted the needles causing my muscles to throb visually as well as sensationally. This was to no avail.
While the trip insurance covered our expenses with the Chinese physician, the treatment was over $1000 and did NOT work. She said it would have to continue to much longer. Longer than 5 straight days for an hour per day. Forget it. We did not extend our tour in China for more acupuncture therapy.
The pain subsides eventually with the surgery, but a damaged immune system is the result of a prosthesis, and perpetual stiffness continues. Before it was a matter of being unable to do much exercise, now it's mandatory. For not exercising every day and constantly remaining active and away from computers, means the pain and stiffness returns--big time. Been there. Trying to get back, but studying photoshop, which I love, does not help.
As a licensed acupuncturist practicing in the US, I can tell you it is unrealistic to expect the kind of arthritic pain & nerve damage you described to vanish within 5 days of acupuncture treatments. With osteoarthritis, or significant injury to a joint, a recommended course of treatment is 8-12 weeks, 1-2 sessions per week for 20-40 minutes. In this country, a follow-up acupuncture session typically ranges from between $45-$75 depending on the location /state/ practice. This would cost, at the higher range and twice per week, about $645 per month for a few months. (It seems that your treatments on the Chinese cruise ship were much higher priced than what is available generally in the US.) By generally accepted acupuncuture treatment standards, it would be premature to decide that it “doesn’t work” before you have tried at least 4-8 weeks of treatments. Results can be noticable in just a few weeks or sooner.
Please remember that in China, Chinese patients with health issues can be treated daily for free or very cheap, and progress is much more rapid. They would still not expect chronic or severe problems to be resolved in 5 days! In the US, unfortunately, we have to deal with our health care system as it is for now, paying out of pocket unless we have great insurance.
Finally, if your knee injury severely damaged the structure of your knee joint or cartilage, it is unlikely that acupuncture alone could have healed this. Sometimes surgery is necessary. Please don’t write off acupuncture as valueless. I have personally experienced my own knees being healed from severe daily pain and dysfunction, but it took months of acupuncture treatments as well as herbal formulas. I have also treated people successfully with acupuncture who suffered from osteoarthritis. These people stuck with the recommended long term course, and they are grateful for the significant improvement. How much is well-being worth to you? It’s a long term investment if it’s worth anything.