Can Acupuncture Help Arthritis Pain?

One of the biggest benefits of acupuncture treatment is pain relief. Many patients who suffer from acute, neuropathic, chronic, and even radicular pain can sense relief from these treatments – so people who suffer from arthritis can also turn here for help. 

Arthritis is one of the leading causes of disability in the US, and can affect anyone – but specifically, women and older aged people. Symptoms can be very painful, with swelling, stiffness, and pain in the joints and all over the body. Being able to capture these pressure points that need aid and stimulate them poses an incredible change in the pain levels of many arthritis patients and diminishes symptoms of even severe cases. 

Acupuncture points stimulate qi in the body, which affects hormone production, and how the body responds to pain. MD Brian Berman states that “There’s a lot of research that says when we put an acupuncture needle into the body, a number of physiological mechanisms occur,” and although many people do not know about this because western medicine does not mention it, it is proven to positively affect your body. 

Acupuncture needles produce signals that travel to the brain, which release neurotransmitters that reduce the increasing feeling of pain in joints and all over the body. Swelling can also be reduced because of the hormone cortisol, which controls inflammation. 

After Dr. Berman put his patients into two groups, one receiving proper acupuncture treatment and the other being the control with placebo effect acupuncture treatment, he tested their improvement at the end of the 26-week period of undergoing these treatments. He measured how far they could walk in six minutes, where the first group reported being able to walk faster and farther, and with less joint pain while doing so.

With acupuncture holding the power of relieving your pain, it is an inexpensive way to cure your worst symptoms.