Table 1: Literature search details
Databases Searched Keywords and MeSH Headings Number of Hits Number of relevant articles
PubMed NCBI Osteopathy, arthritis, knee 8801 50
PubMed NCBI CAM, knee, osteopathy 342 35
PubMed NCBI Acupuncture, osteoarthritis, knee 310 12
PubMed NCBI Randomized controlled trial, knee, osteoarthritis, acupuncture 141 10
As a weight-bearing joint, the knee may develop osteoarthritis over time due to “wear and tear”. This happens when the knee’s joint cartilage degrades and the bone underneath starts to deteriorate, causing pain, stiffness, swelling and compromised function of the joint. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of knee arthritis and affects mostly the middle-aged and the elderly (Srikulmontree 2012). To relieve symptoms, patients may resort to a variety of treatments such as exercise, drug therapy, surgery and alternative methods such as acupuncture. Acupuncture is a complementary or alternative medicine originating from ancient China. It consists of the insertion of needles into specific pressure points of the human body. It is believed to be a treatment for various conditions, particularly those associated with marked pain, such as knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, although acupuncture has been used for thousands of years (White and Ernest 2004) the efficacy of this treatment method has not been conclusively established. This critical literature review will compare two published papers that investigate the effect it has on patients with osteoarthritic knees.
Paper 1
Tukmachi et al (2004) investigated using the effectiveness of acupuncture both alone and as an adjunctive therapy for knee osteoarthritis using an open randomized control trial. Adult patients with a history of more than si...
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...ntree, T. 2012, "Osteoarthritis", American College of Rheumatology, .
Stinner, D.J. & Tennent, D.J. 2012, "Losses to Follow-up Presenta Risk to Study Validity", American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, , no. February 2012.
Suarez-Almzazor, M.E., Looney, C., Liu, Y., Cox, V., Pietz, K., Marcus, D.M. & Street Jr., R.L. 2010 September, "A Randomized Controlled Trial of Acupuncture for Osteoarthritis of the Knee: Effects of Patient-Provider Communication", Arthritis Care Res, vol. 62, no. 9, pp. 1229-1236.
Tukmachi, E., Jubb, R., Dempsey, E. & Jones, P. 2004, "The Effect of Acupuncture on the Symptoms of Knee Osteoarthritis - an open randomised controlled study", Acupuncture in Medicine: Journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 14-22.
White, A. & Ernest, E. 2004, "A brief history of acupuncture", Rheumatology, vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 662-663.
Shiel W Jr.and Stoppler M. (2011). Osteoarthritis . Available: http://www.medicinenet.com/osteoarthritis/article.htm . Last accessed December 2013.
The results of these actions can be relieved pain. “A National Institutes of Health trial has found that acupuncture decreases pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee, when combined with standard medical treatment” (“Acupuncture”). While these results show that some of the pain can be relieved, other studies reveal that the received advantages are nearly nonexistent. Disease therefore cannot be cured. “The benefits of acupuncture are likely nonexistent, or at best are too small to be of any clinical significance.” ( “Why acupuncture is giving sceptists the needle”, David Debyshire) This is a statement made by pharmacologist David Colquhoun and neurologist Steven
Researchers did a study where they got 64 individuals who suffer from arthritis to try massage therapy. The results showed that not only did the therapy release pressure, it also lessened the pain and increased mobility
The aim of acupuncture to heal explicit pathologies has not been determined but it does reestablish systemic equilibrium to the patient’s reservation of Qi. For the body’s system to be recalibrated with its Qi, needles are implanted at certain meridians in order to
Most of the information on acupuncture is circulated by acupuncture therapists and clinics, with one such therapist being Dr.
Osteoarthritis is not a curable condition, but it can be treated using both pharmacological and nonpharmacological methods. Mild analgesics are a common form of treatment for OA, including Acetaminophen and NSAIDs, taking into consideration other co-morbidities that may be present. It is recommended that adults over 75 years of age utilize topical NSAIDs rather than oral for treatment of the pain (Tugwell et al, 2012). Research by A...
Public Health Reports (Interagency Team at NIMH and NIDA Studies How Acupuncture Works.) (1974-) , Vol. 95, No. 5 (Sep. - Oct., 1980), pp. 503-504
Acupuncture, like massage, is widely used but the evidence in the form of clinical trials warrants further investigation to overcome the methodological shortcomings of the existing evidence.
Arthritis affects people of all age groups. More than 100 types of arthritis are known. Among these osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis having the highest incidence. One of the major causes of chronic debilitation in industrialized nations is Osteoarthritis which results from damage to the joints, which may be due to trauma, infection, or age-related wear. Rheumatoid arthritis is encountered less frequently than osteoarthritis and is estimated to affect around one per cent of the world’s population. Amongst patients of Rheumatoid arthritis, women are three times more likely to be affected by this condition than men. This condition is caused by an inflammatory process where the body starts attacking itself. Rheumatoid arthritis also affects several joints, with inflammation sometimes seen in and around the lungs, the heart, the eyes and the skin. The most commonly reported complaint by arthritis patients is pain. The pain might be from the joint itself and be a result of inflammation, damage from the disease, or through daily wear and tear. Muscle pain is also common and is caused by having to force movements against stiff and painful joints. Although range of movement in the affected joint may be limited and uncomfortable, physical exercise has been shown to benefit those with arthritis. Physical therapy has been shown to significantly improve function, decrease pain in the long term and delay the need for surgery in advanced cases. The majority of arthritis cases occur among theelderly, however the disease can occur in children as well. Over 70% of the population that get affected by arthritis in North America are over the age of 65 (4). The disease occurs more commonly in females than males in all races, age groups, and ethn...
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine involving the insertion of super fine needles superficially into the skin to correct the energy flow in the body. Many people believe this practice is painful, while others see it as a waste of time, or useless. Testimonials prove this to be false, but those who have not tried the practice are skeptical. The long history of acupuncture has lead to many misconceptions about the process. There are many benefits to acupuncture that can be shown through an understanding of its process.
Bibliography: Arthritis Foundation, Understanding Arthritis (1986); Kelley, William N., et al., eds., Textbook of Rheumatology, 2d ed., (1985); McCarty, Daniel F., ed., Arthritis and Allied Conditions, 11th ed. (1988); Moll, J. M. H., Rheumatology in Clinical Practice (1987).
...lementary and Alternative Medicine. (2012). Acupunture: An Introduction. Retrieved on July 12, 2014 from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/introduction.htm
When acupuncture was created, some of the medical concepts it employed were relatively new; there were not many falsified stories for it to build off from. In fact, "acupuncture is said to have been theorized... by Shen Nung, the father of Chinese medicine, who also documented his theories on the heart, circulation, and pulse over 400 years before Europeans had any concept about them" (1). Since then, Europeans and Asians alike have encountered centuries of medical dilemmas and successes. Over time, hypotheses emerge and are either disproved or continue to live on as part of scientific discourse and medical practice. For this reason, most old-fashioned treatments no longer hold true when compared to methods cultivated within the great wealth of knowledge attributed to medicine today – not because we are smarter now or are more civilized, but because the field of medicine has accumulated so much more experience and has improved methods to be "less wrong" countless times. So, why has acup...
Ancient roots of acupuncture can be traced back to archeology five thousand years ago. Its written existence has been around for about two thousand five hundred years (Dr. Michael). Acupuncture was discovered during the Chinese Empire in the Yuan dynasty which lasted from 1264 to 1368 CE (Felt). Statues of acupuncture were made during this time period and served as the base of date for the oriental medicine.
Traditional Eastern medical practices such as acupuncture have long been used in the East to unblock stagnant energy in the body that may cause the symptoms of conditions such as depression. The philosophy behind acupuncture is rooted in the Daoist tradition which goes back over 8000 years. The people of this time would meditate and observe the flow of energy in the universe. Acupuncture adds value here as an effective alternative