Can Acupuncture Help Ease Your Arthritis?

Arthritis is something that the majority of the population knows about. Your younger friends have it, your parents have it and your grand parents for sure have it. So what is it?

We know arthritis causes people to complain about their aching joints, but what it actually is can be a swelling and tenderness that affects joints and becomes worse with age (depending on the type). It mostly likely affects load bearing joints such as the hips, knees, and ankles, but can also be found in the neck spine, and hands

There are multiple types of arthritis, which include:

• Osteoarthritis

• Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Gout

• Ankylosing Spondylitis

• Psoriatic Arthritis

• & Juvenile Arthritis

They all have different causes, but some forms or arthritis begin due to normal wearing and tearing of the joints, due to injury to or around the joint, due to repetitive movements, from levels of uric acid in the body, from genetics, due to immune functioning and the body attacking itself and more.

All forms of arthritis include similar symptoms, while having different causations and reasons for onset. These symptoms include:

• Pain and swelling within the affected joints

• Stiffness and decreased range of motion within the affected joints

• Redness and a sensation or feeling of heat within the affected joints

• Skin discolouration around the affected joints

• Tenderness around the affected joints

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) view arthritis and it’s different forms as a type of Painful Obstruction Syndrome. Using TCM there is then a pattern placed on the arthritis and it’s accompanying symptoms. This means that two people might both come in with arthritis, but both have different patterns associated to their specific case.

Some forms of Painful Obstruction Syndrome may involve cold, heat, dampness, phlegm, wind,blood stagnation, qi stagnation, and different forms of difficency. Once the patterns identified, it is then important to choose points which would help resolve dampness and/or phlegm, pacify wind, move blood and qi but also utilize moxibustion to create warmth, electrical stimulation for movement and reduction of swelling and pain, and more.

While there is no cure for arthritis, acupuncture and TCM can both be a beneficial way to slow progression of arthritis, to reduce pain, to improve range of motion and to reduce swelling and inflammation. Feel free to book an acupuncture appointment so we can work together in order to manage the symptoms you are experiencing.