Acupuncture for Arthritis and Gout

Gout and Arthritis are common problems in Toronto and all over Ontario. They affect people of different age groups and genders, however, they affect more people with overweight or obese, who had surgeries, or trauma, who take medications that may increase the uric acid in the body and cause gout, who have kidney disease, or who do not drink enough water or fluids.

The standard medical treatment for arthritis and gout are mainly pain killers such as Ibuprofen or Naproxen for pain relief, or medications that aim at reducing the uric acid in the body such as Febuxostat, and Probenecid.

The success rate under these medications varies according to many factors such as the severity of the disease, the patient’s commitment to take the medications with the prescribed dose, and the duration of their tolerance to the treatment, let alone the inherent differences in patient’s responses due to their differences in medication absorption from the gut, metabolism, and kidney function.

 

This article will discuss the role of acupuncture for Arthritis and Gout

 

For many decades, Acupuncture has been used for many health concerns such as muscle stiffness, headaches, hypertension, and neuropathy.  Nevertheless, the Clinical use of Acupuncture for Arthritis and Gout has shown popularity among patients with these health problems, especially in the last decade.

Given the fact that scientific research is one of the pillars of medical practice, it makes sense to look for the research evidence behind the use of Acupuncture for treating Gout and Arthritis. Interestingly enough, the research was in favor of the use of Acupuncture in Arthritis and Gout. Here I am presenting new research done only a few years ago (2016) published by Lu W et al in the Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Journal https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5099464/ 

 

This new Research is a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Updates on the Clinical Effects of Acupuncture Therapy in Patients with Gouty Arthritis. In this research, analysis of data from 2237 patients with Gouty Arthritis was done by comparing the standard medical treatment (such as the painkillers and the medications mentioned above) with Acupuncture regarding the effectiveness of the treatment based on not only the improvement of the symptoms (such as joint pain, swelling, and stiffness)  but also the impact on the blood test for Gout (such as Uric Acid, ESR and CRP), The side effects or Toxicities were compared as well between the Acupuncture and the Medications.

The results of this study were in favor of Acupuncture for Gout Treatment regarding pain control 24 hours after acupuncture, lowering serum uric acid in the blood, ESR, and CRP. Moreover, the side effects of the treatment were much less in the Acupuncture group of patients.

 

 

Conclusion

The use of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Gout and Arthritis is a very promising treatment and can help many people with these chronic and debilitating disorders.

 

For any questions or consultation please click on these links

For Toronto Residents  https://www.ontarionaturopathicclinic.ca/site/contact-toronto 

For Hamilton and Grimsby residents   https://www.ontarionaturopathicclinic.ca/site/contact-grimsby