Acupuncture and ArthritisWritten by JR Rogers
We have talked about acupuncture before. However, it has been some time ago and I wanted to bring this up and add some interesting points. Arthritis Pain It is no secret that I favor use of a high-quality liquid Glucosamine to deal with pain of arthritis. And, I make that recommendation for both humans and pets. Given recent news stories regarding use of NSAID's, it is certainly a safer and in most cases, equally effective way to handle your pain. New studies using Acupuncture I recently read some information about clinical studies that used acupuncture on arthritis patients. For those of you not that familiar with acupuncture, it is ancient Chinese technique of inserting (very) thin needles in strategic locations in your body. It is a practice that has been used for about 2,000 years so we cannot discard it. Clinical studies In December of 2004, a study that as funded by NIH (National Institutes of Health) and reported in Annals of Internal Medicine regarding use of acupuncture. What researchers said was that of some 570 study participants in study had less pain than those who received what they called "sham acupuncture." A similar study reported in British Medical Journal reported similar results. (That study used a combination of acupuncture and an NSAID)
| | My Rude Introduction to Arthritis and how I am Coping with ItWritten by Jimmie Newell
Let me begin by stating upfront that I realize that a great many people suffer from much more serious arthritic conditions than I. This article is not to trivialize their conditions in any way. My intent is to explain how this disease manifested itself in me and treatment that I have undertaken.Being an avid golfer, I like many other men can hardly wait for spring to arrive. In 2004 spring came early. My first round I walked 18 holes with a push cart as I usually do. I did not feel any abnormal pain at this point. The next day I went to driving range to work some of kinks out of my swing, and hit a large bucket of balls. Later that evening my left knee was in so much pain that I could not stand with any pressure on it, walking was very painful. This persisted for 2-3 weeks, it did finally start to get better, but only marginally, golf had been degraded to using a power cart, there was just no way I could walk 9 holes, let alone 18. Making any full swing was painful from pressure put on my left knee. I finally went to an Orthopedist, and after x-rays of both knees and a range of motion exam, was told that I had Osteoarthritis. The doctor showed me small space left between bones of my left knee, and told me that meniscus (a pad of cartilage that cushions joint and prevents bone to bone contact) was thinning and was in all likelihood torn. He told me that a few years ago, standard treatment was to surgically repair meniscus . however this type of repair was only effective at relieving pain about 50% of time. The more accepted treatment now, was to prescribe a series of exercises designed to strengthen muscles around knee joint, and a pain reliever to control pain, so that I could exercise. He also suggested that I investigate and take glucosamine which is a natural healing product not regulated by FDA. He stated that recent large scale studies had shown that glucosamine was effective in slowing down loss of cartilage and may even contribute to regeneration of damaged cartilage.
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