By Wendy J. Meyeroff
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

You’ve heard these pitches before: wear magnets and relieve arthritis pain. Glucosamine—the natural way to cure arthritis. The ancient healer of arthritis: acupuncture.

These pitches—and many others—are determined to convince you they are the answer to finally relieving your arthritis pain. Joint pain and arthritis are among the top five reasons people turn to CAM—complementary and alternative therapies—according to NCCAM, the division of the government that studies such therapies.

Understand Arthritis

Few people realize there are more than 100 forms of arthritis affecting almost 70 million people in the U.S. Nearly half of them are age 65 plus. In this article, we’re going to discuss what most people are referring to (whether they realize it or not) when they say “arthritis”: osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis found in people over age 60, developing from simple wear and tear, as tissue that protects bones wears away.

The Glucosamine Debate

Two elements, glucosamine and chondroitin, seem to have cartilagerepairing and anti-inflammatory properties. Lab results are encouraging, but somewhat questionable because they’re mostly provided by companies manufacturing these products. In 2000, the government launched a study (still underway at press time) as to the benefits of glucosamine and chondroitin.

“Many people have asked about glucosamine,” says Roland Lascari, M.D., medical director of Cedar Crest, a community in New Jersey built and managed by Erickson. “It seems to work well in some and for others it doesn’t do a thing. As a practitioner I don’t mind if they use it, but like everything else it has to be safe for them.

“People with diabetes need to be careful about glucosamine because it’s an amino sugar. You should check your sugar levels carefully if you use this supplement, and adjust your medication or insulin levels accordingly,” says Lascari.
 
The Arthritis Foundation also offers these warnings: glucosamine is made from shellfish, so if you’re allergic to shellfish you shouldn’t use it. And chondroitin can affect blood-thinning drugs, so talk to your doctor before you consider it.

For now, the generally recommended dosage is 1,500 mg of glucosamine and 1,200 mg of chondroitin divided into three portions throughout the day.

Acupuncture Accepted

One alternative therapy that’s gained major acceptance is acupuncture. This ancient Eastern practice, the most common form of which uses needles to penetrate the skin, is now even covered by many insurance companies. In the U.S., about 1 million people every year try this therapy to fight pain caused by all sorts of problems—including arthritis.

In 2004, one of the largest studies on acupuncture and arthritis was reported from the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative Medicine. For 26 weeks investigators studied 570 men and women, average age 65.5 with OA knee pain.

They were divided into three groups. one group received 23 acupuncture treatments; another received “fake” acupuncture and the third were given an arthritis self-help course. All the participants were told to keep taking their anti-inflammatory or analgesics medicines.

“It’s hard to design a study with ‘fake’ acupuncture. It’s easy to fake a pill, but how do you fake inserting a needle? We put a sheet over all participants’ stomachs so they couldn’t see what was happening. Then in the placebo treatment we taped the needles to the leg,” says Lixing Lao, Ph.D., LAC, a licensed acupuncturist and one of the investigators.

Results didn’t appear until eight weeks into the trial, but when they did, they lasted through the twenty-sixth week—even when treatment was reduced to once a month. At the end of the trial, people in the real acupuncture group averaged a 40 percent decrease in pain and a nearly 40 percent increase in mobility over those in the other groups.

“The results are very promising. The effects were maintained through the final twenty-sixth week— that’s half a year. I think this study shows that depending on the severity of OA, acupuncture could either lower the dose of medication someone needed to take, or even eliminate it altogether,” says Lao.

Lascari reminds people that, “Acupuncture is not a cure for arthritis. But if it helps relieve pain, I encourage its use. Just make sure to find a physician who’s a licensed acupuncturist.”

The Benefits of Exercise It’s easy to understand why exercise is a remedy people with arthritis overlook. Who wants to move when they’re hurting? But the right kind of exercises actually reduce arthritisjoint pain and stiffness. And it helps you lose weight, further reducing joint stress.

It’s always a good idea if you have one or more medical conditions to start a physical therapy program designed by a trained expert. Then the therapist can direct you to an exercise format you will most likely find agreeable and thus able to maintain once you leave therapy. Less stressful options include tai chi and swimming, but also ask about muscle strengthening programs since strong muscles help support weight.

The Still Unproven

Two other popular alternatives are copper bracelets and magnet therapy. For now there’s absolutely no evidence either of these, at least not those currently available, fight arthritis, let alone cure it. If you want to try them, go ahead. “I’ve never seen them help anybody, but it won’t hurt you either (except your wallet),” says Lascari.

A hot debate involves hyaluronic acid (HA), a fluid that occurs naturally in joints. Injections of HA are heartily recommended by some renowned rheumatologists as a lube job for the joints, while others say its benefits are dubious at best.

Be especially leery of unproven “nutraceuticals”— natural chemicals. ASU, an avocado-soybean derivative, shows some promise but only in very limited studies. An herb called Devil’s claw can interfere with diabetes, blood-thinning, and certain heart medications.

“Don’t take any product that hasn’t been approved by your doctor. You must make sure any chemical you’re taking, even if you don’t need a prescription to buy it, won’t interfere with other drugs you’re taking regularly,” says Lascari.

Posted on Sunday, January 01, 2006