Pains and Kneedles--Acupuncture's Benefits for Osteoarthritis Care

Results of a randomized trial from the July 9th 2005 issue of The Lancet suggest that acupuncture could reduce pain and improve joint functioning in the short-term for people with osteoarthritis, specifically osteoarthritis of the knee. The study was conducted by Claudia Witt et al. at the Charite University Medical Center, Berlin, Germany.

Osteoarthritis most frequently affects the knee joint. Over the years, despite a limited evidence base, arthritis patients have increasingly turned to acupuncture to combat their joint pain. Acupuncture is a medical treatment that originated in China and is characterized by the insertion of fine needles into precise points on the body. It's been used for centuries in Chinese medicine to restore health for a variety of conditions. Earlier research concerning the benefits of acupuncture includes a 1999 clinical study that found that inserting fine needles into specific body points triggers the production of endorphins (biochemical substances made by the body that may help reduce the level of pain).

Around 300 patients with chronic osteoarthritis of the knee were randomly assigned to acupuncture, minimal (sham) acupuncture, or a waiting list control. Sham acupuncture amounted to superficial needling at non-acupuncture points. Physicians administered acupuncture and minimal acupuncture in 12 sessions over 8 weeks and patients were allowed to use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs throughout the study.

Patients completed a questionnaire at the start of treatment, and then after 8 weeks, 6 months, and finally 1 year. Analgesic use was similar for patients in the three groups. After 8 weeks, patients given acupuncture had a substantially lower score (26 points) on an established osteoarthritis index than patients in the control group (50 points). Minimal acupuncture also had short-term benefit compared with no acupuncture (36 points). Unfortunately, there was no significant difference in scores between the three groups at the 1-year follow-up.

The group concluded that acupuncture treatment has significant and clinically relevant short-term effects when compared to minimal acupuncture or no acupuncture treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. The long-term effects (if any) of acupuncture have yet to be understood, both in comparison to sham interventions and to standard treatment.

However, the researchers caution that it is too early to draw concrete conclusions from this study. Andrew Moore, one of the head researchers, expressed the following concerns: "We are still some way short of having conclusive evidence that acupuncture is beneficial in arthritis or in any other condition, other than in a statistical or artificial way. There is limited evidence of effect and, with exceptions, of cost-effectiveness. Most importantly, the need for needles is still in doubt."

Article References
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=27152&nfid=rssfeeds, site accessed on 07/11/05

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/95/103359.htm, site accessed on 07/11/05