ARTHRITIS: AH, THERE'S THE RUB
The power of acupuncture and massage
BY:MYRA DEMBROW
Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is caused by a progressive degeneration of bone cartilage and is most often treated with pain medication, steroids, exercise, and both hot and cold temperature therapy. But two studies now indicate acupuncture and massage might boost the effectiveness of traditional OA treatments.
The acupuncture study, conducted in Germany and reported last November in Arthritis & Rheumatism, involved 3,500 patients who had arthritis in their knees or hips. All participants continued regular treatments, but 3,200 added up to 15 sessions of needle-stimulation acupuncture. Those who underwent acupuncture reported less pain and stiffness than those who didn’t, researchers reported. These improvements continued for at least three months after the last acupuncture session.
The massage study, reported in December 2006, in the Archives of Internal Medicine, focused on arthritic knees. All 68 patients in the study continued their usual regimens, but a group of them also received a Swedish massage once or twice a week for eight weeks. The patients receiving the massage reported more flexibility and less pain than the group that did not get massaged.
“We think that the primary role for massage therapy will be to reduce dependence on pharmacotherapy [drugs], rather than replace it outright, and to delay any functional decline rather than reverse the disease,” says senior author David Katz, MD, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.