Acupuncture May Offer Alternative to Vioxx® and Celebrex®

With the hubbub over prescription NSAIDs - namely Vioxx® and Celebrex®leading to increased risk for heart attacks and strokes, both physicians and patients are scrambling to find alternatives for the relief of pain and stiffness of osteoarthritis. Against this backdrop, the report of an NIH-sponsored study on the affect of acupuncture for osteoarthritis couldn't have been more timely. The study, Effectiveness of Acupuncture as Adjunctive Therapy in Osteoarthritis of the Knee, was published in the Dec. 21, 2004, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. In the study, 570 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee were randomly assigned to acupuncture, sham acupuncture (needling of non-acupuncture points), or group education. Intervention consisted of 23 acupuncture or sham acupuncture treatments over 26 weeks, while the education group received six two-hour sessions over 12 weeks. Pain and mobility/function scores were assessed after eight and 26 weeks. After eight weeks, patients in the true acupuncture group demonstrated greater improvement in mobility, but not pain, compared to the sham acupuncture group. After 26 weeks, statistically significant improvements in pain and function scores, as well as patient global assessment, were experienced by those receiving acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture or education controls. The authors concluded: "Acupuncture seems to provide improvement in function and pain relief as an adjunctive therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee when compared with credible sham acupuncture and education control groups."

Berman BM, Lao L, Langenberg P, et al. Effectiveness of acupuncture as adjunctive therapy in osteoarthritis of the knee. Ann Intern Med 2004;141:901-910.

The same issue of Annals of Internal Medicine also published studies on the use of acupuncture for chronic neck pain and chiropractic for low back pain.

In addition to acupuncture, nutrients and botanicals may also offer joint support. Research has demonstrated glucosamine sulfate is beneficial to joint structures, most likely by providing the substrate needed for creating joint glycosaminoglycans. MSM supplies sulfur molecules necessary for these same joint structures, while traditional botanicals such as devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) and curcumin (from turmeric) inhibit the COX-2 enzyme and have been found to have significant anti-inflammatory activity. Boswellia serrata is a unique botanical, as it inhibits the pro-inflammatory 5-lipoxygenase enzyme.