Several Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioners have suggested that acupuncture can help treat Gouty Arthritis. So is there any complementary medicine research that has demonstrated the effectiveness of acupuncture on treating Gouty Arthritis.
A 2013review of randomized control trials were used in order to determine the effectiveness of Acupuncture in the treatment of Gouty Arthritis.
The methodology of this study, involved the use of five electronic databases to search for all RCTs utilizing acupuncture and conventional therapies for gouty arthritis treatment. The databases were searched until August 2012 and included English and Chinese databases.
In total, 10 RCTs were used investigated using involving over 850 gouty arthritis patients. The use of acupuncture in treating arthritis is still a debatable topic. Some reviews favor the use of acupuncture for relieving pain non-specifically and others oppose this view, and suggest acupuncture has no efficacy when compared to the control.
However this complementary medicine research review focused on both Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and uric acid in determining usefulness of Acupuncture. More importantly, the review directly investigated the use of acupuncture vs the use of western medicine for effective treatment for gouty arthritis. From this, the study revealed that acupuncture in fact has a beneficial influence on treating gouty arthritis. Not only does it reduce uric acid but it also plays an important role in reducing pain.
However, the meta–analysis report by Lee at al in 2013 highlighted several limitations in many of the research studies. The authors recommended that, ‘In conclusion, this concise report of a systematic and meta-analysis approach demonstrates significant efficacy of acupuncture treatment vs standard therapy in improving quality of life and decreasing uric acid. More controlled trials are worth performing to investigate other efficacy measures of potential interest. In addition, more RCTs should be investigated to determine the role of acupuncture treatment in gouty arthritis’.
The researchers also suggested using an Integrative healthcare solution approach i.e. using acupuncture and western medicine concurrently.
From my experience, I have been part of an Integrative Medicine team that has used Acupuncture, Ayurvedic diet and pharmaceuticals to effectively treat Gouty Arthritis; the symptomatic improvements were reflected by reduction in uric acid levels and gout attacks. This also shows the value of using Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapies as part of integrative healthcare solutions.
A 2013review of randomized control trials were used in order to determine the effectiveness of Acupuncture in the treatment of Gouty Arthritis.
The methodology of this study, involved the use of five electronic databases to search for all RCTs utilizing acupuncture and conventional therapies for gouty arthritis treatment. The databases were searched until August 2012 and included English and Chinese databases.
In total, 10 RCTs were used investigated using involving over 850 gouty arthritis patients. The use of acupuncture in treating arthritis is still a debatable topic. Some reviews favor the use of acupuncture for relieving pain non-specifically and others oppose this view, and suggest acupuncture has no efficacy when compared to the control.
However this complementary medicine research review focused on both Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and uric acid in determining usefulness of Acupuncture. More importantly, the review directly investigated the use of acupuncture vs the use of western medicine for effective treatment for gouty arthritis. From this, the study revealed that acupuncture in fact has a beneficial influence on treating gouty arthritis. Not only does it reduce uric acid but it also plays an important role in reducing pain.
However, the meta–analysis report by Lee at al in 2013 highlighted several limitations in many of the research studies. The authors recommended that, ‘In conclusion, this concise report of a systematic and meta-analysis approach demonstrates significant efficacy of acupuncture treatment vs standard therapy in improving quality of life and decreasing uric acid. More controlled trials are worth performing to investigate other efficacy measures of potential interest. In addition, more RCTs should be investigated to determine the role of acupuncture treatment in gouty arthritis’.
The researchers also suggested using an Integrative healthcare solution approach i.e. using acupuncture and western medicine concurrently.
From my experience, I have been part of an Integrative Medicine team that has used Acupuncture, Ayurvedic diet and pharmaceuticals to effectively treat Gouty Arthritis; the symptomatic improvements were reflected by reduction in uric acid levels and gout attacks. This also shows the value of using Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapies as part of integrative healthcare solutions.