Acupuncture Benefits Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis

Patients with chronic pain from osteoarthritis of the hip and knee improved markedly following acupuncture and routine medical care, according to a new study. The randomized, controlled study of 3,633 osteoarthritis patients, published in the November 2006 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, assessed the effectiveness of acupuncture along with routine care compared to routine care alone in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee.

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Patients were randomly assigned to receive up to 15 acupuncture treatments in a 3 month period versus a control group which received no acupuncture. Some patients who did not agree to be randomly assigned also received acupuncture. The randomized and non-randomized acupuncture patients showed significant improvement in symptoms at three months and the improvement was maintained at 6 months compared to patients not receiving acupuncture. Quality of life also improved in the acupuncture group.

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