Acupuncture for Osteoarthritis

How Chinese medicine understands osteoarthritis

In Chinese medicine, osteoarthritis belongs to Bi syndrome, pain from an obstruction of Qi and Blood in the channels. When the problem has reached the bones and changed the shape of the joint, the classical texts call it bony Bi. In this view the Kidneys govern the bones and the Liver governs the tendons, so long-standing joint wear is often linked to those two organs weakening with age.

The common patterns are:

• Cold and Damp. Stiff, heavy, aching joints that are worse in cold, wet weather and first thing in the morning, and better with warmth. Treatment warms and clears the channels.
• Damp-Heat. A flare where the joint becomes puffy, warm and more painful. Treatment cools and drains the area.
• Blood stasis. Sharp, fixed pain in a joint that has been injured or has been sore for years. Treatment moves circulation through it.
• Liver and Kidney deficiency. A deep ache in several joints, weak knees and low back, and tiredness. Treatment builds these up as well as easing the pain.

Many people show a deficiency underneath with Cold or Damp on top. The balance between them shapes the treatment, and it changes over time.

What treatment involves

Your first visit at the clinic in Keswick starts with a lot of questions: which joints hurt, how long you are stiff in the morning, what the weather does to them, what you can and cannot do, and your general health. I look at your tongue and take your pulse. An assessment usually also includes checking how each sore joint moves.

Acupuncture is usually the main treatment. Points are chosen around the sore joints and elsewhere on the body for your pattern. The aim is to ease pain, relax the muscles that guard a stiff joint, and help you stay active. If a knee is the main problem, the knee pain page goes into it in more detail.

For Cold patterns, moxibustion can be used to warm stiff joints directly. Tuina massage and cupping can loosen the muscles around the hips, back and neck. Chinese herbal medicine can be added as a formula written for your pattern and dispensed at the clinic. Herbs are extra to the treatment fee. Tell me about every medicine you take, including blood thinners and anti-inflammatories, so the formula suits them.

Osteoarthritis is long-term, so the goal is steady improvement in comfort and movement. Plan on 5–10 treatments to judge progress. Research on acupuncture for osteoarthritis is still developing.

Between visits

• Keep the joints moving. Regular walking, swimming, cycling or water exercise suits most arthritic joints. Little and often is better than one big effort.
• Build strength. Stronger muscles take load off the joint. A physiotherapist can give you exercises for your particular joints.
• Use heat for stiffness. A warm shower, heat pack or warm water for stiff hands can ease morning stiffness.
• Pace heavy jobs. Split gardening, cleaning and lifting into shorter spells with rests in between.
• Ease the load. For hips and knees, supportive footwear and, where relevant, losing some weight can reduce pain.

When to see your doctor first

See your doctor before starting treatment, or promptly if you are already coming in, if:

• A joint is suddenly hot, red and swollen, or you have a fever. Infection or gout needs to be ruled out.
• Several small joints are swollen and stiff for more than an hour in the morning. This can be inflammatory arthritis.
• A joint locks, gives way or swells after an injury.
• You have pain at night that does not ease with rest, unexplained weight loss, or feel generally unwell.
• You have numbness, weakness or pins and needles in the arms or legs along with neck or back arthritis.
• Your pain has not been assessed by a doctor at all.