What Are Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms
The symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis tend to start with pain in the joints, redness, swelling, heat around the joints and a loss of function. Many people also experience low grade fever and fatigue as a result of the condition.
The course of Rheumatoid Arthritis is often variable, it tends to affect the smaller joints such as fingers and toes, subsequently the wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees and ankles may be affected too. Longer term, in some cases larger joints such as the hip can show signs of the condition.
Once diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis those with the condition may notice symptoms gradually increasing over a period of time, initially pain can be brought on by movement, with the progression of symptoms, pain may be also be experienced when resting. The condition is characterised by periods of symptom flare up and remission. Treatment will often vary according to the phase of symptoms.
Acupuncture Treatment And Rheumatoid Arthritis
Acupuncture has not been shown to prevent joint damage, and study data is conflicting as to whether acupuncture controls inflammation. Although there is no positive proof that acupuncture reduces inflammation, this has occasionally been reported.
Acupuncture can, however, help with RA-related pain, just as it does with other types of pain, through the stimulation of endorphin production. Acupuncture should not be used as the sole treatment for RA, but rather as an additional treatment, in conjunction with RA disease-modifying medications. It is a tool to fight pain with minimal side effects, which can be undertaken along with medication treatment.
Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis With Acupuncture
In Traditional Chinese Medicine practice, treatment involves treating both the manifestation and the root cause. Acupuncture is used to restore balance and harmony to the body and thereby offer pain relief and help prevent progression of the disease.
Modern scientific research has revealed that two naturally occurring hormones provide relief from arthritis: endorphins and adrenocorticotropin . Daniel N. Hsu, D.A.O.M., L.Ac. of New York AcuHealth Acupuncture
Acupuncture is capable of stimulating the production of both of endorphins and ACTH triggering the body to heal itself. Used in an ongoing basis, acupuncture treatment can prevent the recurrence of arthritis and in mild cases, acupuncture may be able to eliminate pain altogether.
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Details Of Acupuncture Protocols
The details of the acupuncture protocol are summarized in . The following describes the detailed items summarized in the table:
Intervention type: traditional acupuncture with different manual techniques, laser acupuncture, electroacupuncture, buccal acupuncture, auricular electroacupuncture, warm needling with or without moxibustion, and acupoint stimulation with herbs.
Modalities used for control or combined therapy: oral or injected form of Western medication, reflexology, moxibustion, herb steaming, massage, mud and sauna therapy, sham acupuncture, autogenic training, herb iontophoresis, oral use of herbs, and electromagnetic millimeter wave.
Treatment frequency/duration and follow-up period of each research summarized in detail as shown in .
Wang et al. used the same acupuncture protocol but compared the treatment efficacy for 3 and 6 courses .
How Does It Work
Acupuncture helps to stimulate the bodys own healing mechanisms. Repeated treatments are known to have a cumulative effect on chronic pain management. This is because of acupunctures effect on the central nervous system, leading to the release of enkephalins and endorphins, the bodys natural pain killers.
Acupuncture also has modulating effects on certain areas of the brain that help to change pain perception and transmission .
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Seattle Tacoma & Bellevue Clinics
Whether you have been dealing with joint pain for years, or have a recent diagnosis of one of the many different types of arthritis, acupuncture is there to help.
Feeling the pains of arthritis? So are 54 million Americans. According to the Arthritis Foundation, it is the leading cause of disability in the US, and can make daily activities excruciating and full of pain. Luckily, acupuncture has been shown to help reduce arthritis pain naturally.
Arthritis describes over 100 types of diseases that affect the joints and cause pain all over the body. Common signs and symptoms include joint pain, swelling, and stiffness, as well as fatigue and even rashes. While some types are confined to a localized joint, others can affect the whole body. There are many types of treatments for arthritis, and acupuncture has been shown to be one of them.
Acupuncture Helps Treat Arthritis Pain
According to the CDC, arthritis is a common health problem in the U.S., affecting more than 54 million people, with this number expected to rise to 78 million in the next 20 years. Among chronic diseases in the U.S., arthritis causes more disability than any other condition, including heart disease, diabetes, and back or spine problems. Rheumatoid arthritis is the third most common type of arthritis behind osteoarthritis and gout . RA affects More than 1.3 million in the U.S.
RA is defined as a chronic, long-term autoimmune disease, meaning your immune system begins to attack and damage healthy cells. This damage can lead to even worse symptoms. Most people assume RA is a disease impacting the joints, but there are other areas of the body that can be impacted as well. The progression of RA is different for each individual. Symptoms and treatment can vary from person to person depending on a variety of factors.
Most treatment options include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, and various medications for pain relief. They can range from over-the-counter analgesics like Tylenol to prescription drugs like tramadol, codeine, oxycodone and hydrocodone. These drugs can have powerful side effects and there are those looking for non-pharmacological options. The good news is studies show that acupuncture can help treat arthritis pain.
What the Research Says
And the Arthritis Foundation believes there are several main benefits to getting acupuncture treatment:
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The Cost Of Acupuncture
Typical fees for acupuncture can be as high as $100 for the first consultation, with follow-up visits around $50-70. This can become quite expensive, especially since acupuncture treatment usually consists of several treatments. When you have a chronic illness, such as RA, acupuncture treatment may even be ongoing in order to have the best effects. Not all insurance plans cover acupuncture, so make sure you check before you make an appointment.
Acupoint Nanocomposite Hydrogel Can Improve Joint Inflammation And Delay Disease Progression
Fig. 5
In vivo anti-arthritis efficacy of acupoint nanocomposite hydrogel. a Histological sections with H& E, Masson, SO-FG and T& B staining of joints in different groups. G1: ST36 TP-CCPA-solution, G2: ST36 TP-CCPA-Gel, G3: ST36 TP@HSA NPs-CCPA-Gel, G4: Non-acupoint TP@HSA NPs-CCPA-Gel). Asterisks: formation of pannus. Red arrows: invasion of inflammation. Green arrows: destruction of cartilage. Blue line: narrow joint space. Yellow arrows: destruction of cartilage. Black triangle: loss of proteoglycan. Scale bar: 200 m. b Histopathologic scores of synovial inflammation, bone erosion, and cartilage degradation. *p< 0.05, **p< 0.01, ***p< 0.001
Fig. 6
Immunohistochemistry analysis of articular tissues. a immunohistochemical image of cartilage and synovium in different groups. Black arrows: positive staining. Scale bar:100 m. b Quantification of the IL-1, IL-6 and TNF- production in the tissues treated with different samples based on the immunohistochemical results. G1: ST36 TP-CCPA-solution, G2: ST36 TP-CCPA-Gel, G3: ST36 TP@HSA NPs-CCPA-Gel, G4: Non-acupoint TP@HSA NPs-CCPA-Gel. Data are reported as mean±SD , *p< 0.05, **p< 0.01, ***p< 0.001
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Suffering Arthritis Pain In Your Knee Acupuncture Can Deliver Relief
Heres a sobering statistic: Chronic knee pain affects nearly 50 percent of older American adults, and knee pain is the most commonly reported pain among adults ages 50 to 69. Much of that knee pain is attributed to arthritis.
A bit about arthritic knee pain: Traditional therapies for arthritis, such as medication and surgery, have many limitations. Medications may offer temporary relief but can come with side effects. Surgery is quite painful and expensive, and can also lead to side effects not to mention the recovery period where your functionality may be severely limited. After surgery, you may need to endure additional treatment in the form of physical therapy.
So whats a person to do when medications dont work and surgery isnt on the table as an option ? You may need to turn to alternative, integrative therapies. One such option is acupuncture in this article, learn how the professionals at Jersey Integrative Health and Wellness treat arthritis pain with acupuncture.
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The Effects Of Acupuncture
In addition to pain relief, acupuncture can also have additional beneficial effects. This includes alleviating stress, reducing the effects of chemotherapy in people with cancer, improving the success of in vitro fertilization, encouraging neural responses in areas of the brain deactivated by Parkinsons, and helping with sleep. Additional studies indicate that acupuncture may induce anti-inflammatory effects, which is a factor in the development of a number of different conditions, including heart disease and cancer. At present, researchers are not quite sure how it accomplishes this.
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Scott Pearson Of The Newtown Acupuncture Centre In Wellington Helps To Explain
To gain understanding of how traditional acupuncture can help treat rheumatoid arthritis, we need to have a look at how does somebody get rheumatoid arthritis from a traditional Chinese medical perspective.
Patients who become afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis according to traditional Chinese medicine theory view that environmental factors can penetrate into the body. In particular wind, cold, heat and damp are said to lodge into the joints, muscles and tendons.
What Are The Risks
The chances that acupuncture will harm you are very low. Thatâs one of the reasons doctors say itâs OK to try it even though thereâs sometimes limited proof that it helps arthritis.
Make sure your practitioner uses new, sterile needles for each client, so thereâs a lower chance of infection. Some people bruise or feel sore later at the spot where the needles went in.
Some people should be more cautious before they get acupuncture. Ask your doctor about it if you:
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What To Expect At An Acupuncture Appointment
Whether the practitioner is a medical doctor with acupuncture certification, or a licensed nonphysician acupuncturist, his or her credentials should be displayed in the office.
The patient should expect:
- T be positioned comfortably during treatment.
- To have the skin cleansed with alcohol prior to the placement of needles.
- To have the needles placed 1-2 centimeters deep.
- For the needles to be single-use, sterilized and disposed of after use.
After the needles have been placed by the practitioner, they may be stimulated manually or electrically, and a warming lamp may be used. Acupuncture needles are thinner than injection hypodermic needles, so the insertion should feel akin to a mosquito bite. The patient may experience tingling, soreness, or an electrical sensation as the needles are being manipulated.
Everyones response is unique, but the patient is likely to feel a sense of relaxation and well-being during treatment.
It is important for a patient to communicate any concerns they may have prior to undergoing treatment and make note of any easily accessible ways to contact the practitioner should a need for assistance arise. In some instances, the practitioner may leave the room once the needles have been placed to give the patient time to relax.
What Happens During A Session
The person who treats you is called an acupuncturist. Theyâll swab each area with alcohol before tapping a very thin needle into the site. The number of needles youâll get, where theyâre placed, and how deeply theyâre inserted depends upon your particular case.
The needles will stay in place for several minutes to an hour. The acupuncturist may adjust, warm, or electrically energize them to intensify the effect. You may feel some tingling if electricity is used. It should be mild, and you can ask your acupuncturist to dial it down at any time.
You may need to get more than one session.
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Summary Of Dr Mengs Presentation At The Early Ra Support And Education Workshop On May 16 2012
is a chronic, inflammatory systemic illness that affects the whole body, especially the joints. It is also an , which means that the immune system in the body, usually responsible for fighting off infections, also mistakenly begins to attack healthy tissue.
One of the most common symptoms of RA is joint pain. People suffering from pain conditions, such as RA-related joint pain, may be interested in trying acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture is not a cure for RA, but it may provide some temporary relief of RA-related joint pain.
How Can Acupuncture Help
Acupuncture treatments are based on slowing down the progression of the disease both internally at the immune system level and locally in the joints, removing the pain and inflammation and bringing back as much function as is possible . We combine acupuncture with Chinese herbal medicine and diet changes to achieve optimal results.
Locally the joints are treated to relax the surrounding muscles of the joint, allowing the joint to maneuver in the way it was intended as opposed to being pulled to one side. This helps takes the pressure off the joint and slows down degeneration.
Secondly, acupuncture will decrease inflammation and help remove the inflammatory mediators causing destruction to the joint . Acupuncture also increases cellular growth and repair as well as decreasing the pain and discomfort . Long term regular acupuncture helps to slow down and in some cases stop further progression of the disease by correcting the function of the immune system and putting the disease in a state of remission.
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Acupuncture For Rheumatoid Arthritis
Acupuncture has been a staple of Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years. Acupuncturists insert hair-thin needles into the skin at points on the body. It is virtually painless when done by an experienced practitioner. Inserting the needles is thought to correct imbalances in the flow of energy in the body, called qi . In Western scientific terms, the effect of acupuncture is to adjust the body’s neurotransmitters, hormone levels, or immune system.
There is not a lot of definitive research on acupuncture and rheumatoid arthritis although some data suggest it can be helpful.
If you want to try acupuncture, be sure to choose a licensed practitioner. Most states require a license to practice acupuncture. The requirements, education, and training standards for licensure vary from state to state. If your state does not require a license, choose a practitioner who is licensed in another state or is certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
It’s also important to make sure that the acupuncturist uses only sterilized needles that are disposed of after a single use.
How The West Sees Acupuncture
I still remember my first experience of acupuncture, back in the mid-1970s. At that time, medical professionals basically ridiculed the practice, likening it to snake oil. But over the last four decades, much has changed. Studies have shown that acupuncture affects both the central and peripheral nervous systems and can cause the release of chemicals in the body that can relieve pain.
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Natural Pain Management With Acupuncture In Seattle And Tacoma:
My hands stopped hurting with acupuncture. I didnt believe I could get the pain to go away because I have arthritis and it is bone on bone. Thank you!
The beneficial effect of acupuncture has gone beyond greatly reducing the eczema. It has eliminated a lower back ailment, reduced the pain from arthritis in both knees, and increased my overall level of energy. There are other subtle psychological benefits perhaps a result from being freed from the constant aches perhaps from the energy realignment about which I have heard but which I do not pretend to comprehend. I do understand the good results.
I first came to Natalie because I had heard acupuncture could help with gout. Being unfamiliar with both gout and acupuncture at the time, I was eager to try anything that would help cease the pain quickly. She could not have been more gracious and knowledgeable and I was amazed by how quickly the pain and inflammation subsided. Since then, I have come to Natalie for help with knee pain from playing basketball and digestive problems. Natalie has used acupuncture and herbs to relieve all of these issues at various points.
Thank you for all your positive support. I am grateful for all you did for me. Just wanted to say thank you for all your help, support, and encouragement in getting my hands back in better gripping order! You are a very special soul and I feel grateful to know you.
Pain
How To Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis With Acupuncture And Tcm
Do you have joint pain, swelling or stiffness in the joints, especially finger joint pain or a swollen knee? Maybe you feel that the joint pain is moving to other parts of your body, or flares up sometimes, and then seems to go away. Joint pain accompanied by fever and fatigue may be a sign of Rheumatoid Arthritis , an auto immune disease that causes inflammation and can lead to serious physical disability. Acupuncture and TCM offer a way to help people who suffer from Rheumatoid arthritis, as well as other types of arthritis and autoimmune disorders.
Arthritis is a general term that refers to all kinds of joint pain. Most types of arthritis begin to occur due to aging and the repeated wear and tear on the joints of the body that happens as we move through life. Any place in the body where two bones meet is considered a joint, so arthritis pain and inflammation can occur in the large joints of the limbs, causing shoulder pain or hip pain, in the spine, causing back pain, or in the extremities: arthritis in hands and feet. Rheumatoid arthritis most commonly shows up first as arthritis in fingers, hands, and knees.
Rheumatoid arthritis used to be commonly known as rheumatism, and now may be referred to as RA. It is different from other types of arthritis because the joint pain is caused by immune system problems, not injury or overuse of the joint.
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