"Osteoarthritis may respond to acupuncture", Reuters UK, December 19,
2006,
Link:
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/arti...th-C4-Health-3
Patients with chronic pain related to osteoarthritis experience "marked
clinical improvement" with acupuncture plus routine care, German
researchers have shown.
They randomly assigned 632 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or
hip to undergo up to 15 sessions of acupuncture over a 3-month period
or to a "control" group that got no acupuncture. A second group of 2921
patients did not consent to random placement, and all of these patients
received acupuncture. The participants in both trials were allowed to
continue on their usual treatment.
The results of the study are published in the medical journal Arthritis
and Rheumatism.
After 3 months, significantly greater improvements were seen in scores
on a standardized osteoarthritis severity scale in the acupuncture
group than in the control group, Dr. Claudia M. Witt, of Charite
University Medical Center, Berlin, and colleagues report.
Overall, 34.5 percent of the acupuncture group had a good response to
treatment after 3 months, compared with 6.5 percent of the control
group. Quality of life improvements were also more pronounced in the
acupuncture group compared with the control group.
Treatment success was maintained through 6-month follow-up in both
trials.
Adding acupuncture to routine primary care "resulted in a clinically
relevant and persistent benefit," the investigators conclude, and
"should be considered as a treatment option for patients with knee or
hip osteoarthritis-associated chronic pain."
SOURCE: Arthritis and Rheumatism, November 2006.
