Acupuncture and Natural Arthritis Pain Relief

Can Acupuncture act as a natural arthritis pain relief system for you? Read on to learn how Chinese Medicine can address arthritis of all types, and bring you pain relief without drug therapy.

What is arthritis?

The most basic description of this disorder is inflammation of the joints of the body. However, there are many different types of arthritis, all of which vary in symptomology and treatment.

So what are the main types of arthritic conditions?

The 2 most common types are Osteoarthritis (OA), and Rheumatioid Arthritis (RA). Let’s discuss these two categories before we move on.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

This form is an auto-immune disorder, meaning that your body’s own immune system attacks the joints of the body, causing chronic inflammation. This leads to thickening of the synovial membranes and thus swelling of the joint itself. It is the most severe type of inflammatory joint disease.
Symptoms include painful, stiff and deformed joints, primarily of the fingers, wrists, toes, ankles and knees.

Osteoarthritis

This is the more common type of arthritis and can be divided into two categories.
Primary OA is a symmetrical condition that affects numerous joints such as knees, the big toe and thumb, the joints of the fingers, and the small joints of the spine.

Secondary OA is asymmetrical and affects large weight bearing joints such as the knee or hip. The inter-vertebral joints are also affected.
The cause of this disorder is gradual degeneration and progressive loss of the protective cartilage within the joints. Without the cartilage, the bones become damaged from contact with one another and new bone at the margins of the cartilage produce ‘bone spurs’. The degeneration of the joint is caused primarily by trauma from previous injury and wear and tear.

Symptoms include soreness at the joint site and stiffness as well, but, unlike RA, are rarely warm and red.

From a Chinese medical perspective, arthritis is much more than just stiffness and inflammation. Though these are the manifestations of the disease, the diagnosis of how the disease developed can stem from many different disease paths. Your diagnosis and treatment will not likely be the same as the next patient’s diagnosis, as we are all individuals with unique bodies.

Western medical doctors will prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs for your inflammatory arthritis. For your OA, NSAIDs are one of the commonest pharmacological treatments prescribed in general practice. Drugs used include aspirin, ibupofen, or gold compounds; but steroid-based drugs such as corticosteroids and immuno-suppressive drugs are also widely used.

NSAIDs have been the subject of recent controversy. In September 2004 the drug rofecoxib, a cyclooxygenase-2-selective NSAID (referred to as COX-2 inhibitor) was withdrawn worldwide. There were serious concerns about the cardiovascular safety of all NSAIDs, and COX-2 inhibitors in particular.
Due to the wide range of adverse side effects including stomach irritation, gastritis or ulcers caused by long-term use of these medications, NSAIDs, corticosteroids or immuno-suppresive drugs are prescribed for short-term relief. So you are not meant to be taking these medications for a long time. That’s where Chinese medicine and Acupuncture Treatment Denver can really help!

I can help correct your pain at it’s most basic level, without the use of dangerous drugs with negative side effects. At the same time, we can work on your pain and other symptoms to help get you immediate relief using a combination of Acupuncture Treatment Denver and herbal therapy.

Was this helpful? 0 0 Comments

You're reading Acupuncture and Natural Arthritis Pain Relief.