Helping Arthritis with Acupuncture and Chinese medicine

 The majority of people with joint pain are diagnosed with Arthritis, which is a general term for a number of conditions that involve swollen, painful and/or stiff joints. In the West, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) are the preferred treatment for Arthritis. In the East, Acupuncture and Chinese herbs have been used for over 2000 years to treat joint and musculo-skeletal diseases, including Arthritis.
 Arthritis in Western medicine:Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, gout, tempero mandibular joint syndrome etc. Are all types of Arthritis differentiated in Western medicine. The most commonly seen forms are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis: the pain of osteoarthritis is due to the gradual loss of protective cartilage in the joints. This is caused by changes within the cells of the cartilage through physical injury, mechanical stress or metabolic abnormality. The cartilage thins gradually and may even breakdown leaving the ends of bones unprotected producing pain and further degeneration.
Rheumatoid arthritis: Rheumatoid arthritis is the most severe type of inflammatory joint disease. It is an auto-immune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues, damaging joints and the surrounding tissue. Painful, stiff and deformed joints of the hands, arms, feet and legs are commonly seen. Apart from NSAIDS, other drugs are used such as gold compounds and steroid based drugs like corticosteroids and immune-suppressive drugs. The side effects of these drugs range from stomach irritability and bleeding stomach ulcers to weight gain, facial puffiness and thinning of the skin and bone.
Arthritis in Chinese medicine: Arthritis is known in Chinese medicine as ‘’Bi’’ syndrome, Bi meaning painful obstruction. We say it is the result of the body being ‘’invaded’’ by external climatological factors such as wind, cold, heat and/or dampness. The symptoms manifested by the individual depend on which external pathogenic factor is strongest. Following is a listing of the four main patterns of Bi syndrome. Wind Bi: Exposure to wind for prolonged time is an important cause of the Wind pattern of arthritis. Any Wind pattern is characterised by movement of symptoms hence its alternative name wandering Bi, last week it was shoulder pain, this week it’s the knees. There is joint soreness and pain which can move from joint to joint. Joint movement is limited, and there is often fever, as well as aversion to wind or windy weather. Cold Bi: Joints which are cold to touch and frequently swollen too are referred to as cold Bi. With this type of By, the pain has a fixed location rather than moving about. One can get relief from applying heat to the area and exposure to cold will definitely aggravate the condition. Damp Bi: The damp pattern of arthritis is characterised by pain, soreness and swelling in muscles and joints, with a feeling of heaviness and numbness in the limbs. The pain has a fixed location and is aggravated by damp weather. When these patients move to a hot dry climate they often feel better. Hot Bi: This type of Bi is commonly seen in Rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis. It is characterised by severe pain and hot-red-swollen joints. Pain tends to be worse at night. Other symptoms may include fever thirst and anxiety. I have classified arthritis into nice neat groups, in clinical practice it is not really like that and I would often see joint pain which is a mixture, in fact this tends to be the norm rather than the exception. Different types of arthritis respond different to acupuncture. However acupuncture is an excellent treatment choice for all types of arthritis because arthritis is characterised by obstruction and acupuncture moves obstruction! More and more scientifically designed clinical studies support the use of acupuncture for arthritis. A recent study examined the effects of acupuncture on 32 osteoarthritis patients waiting for knee replacement surgery. After 9 weeks, patients receiving acupuncture treatment reported a decrease in pain, while pain increased in untreated patients. The patients with acupuncture treatment were able to walk farther and faster, compared to the untreated group. Success of the treatment depends also on how effectively acupuncture can re-harmonise the body. It the arthritis is very deep-seated then at best, acupuncture may be able to offer pain relief and help the disease from progressing further. If the systemic imbalance is not so severe, then acupuncture may be able to offer a cure.