Arthralgia

Increasing interest has focused on complementary management modalities, including tai chi, acupuncture, yoga, and massage therapy, as treatments for osteoarthritis (OA). This review article synthesizes evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews (SRs) that examined one or more of the above as treatments for OA. Medline, Pubmed, and Cinahl databases were searched to identify English-language articles using an RCT design or that conducted a SR of published studies and presented data on symptom or functional outcomes.

One fundamental question that is still not resolved is whether acupuncture needles must be inserted in specific points to have their greatest effects. In the majority of large RCTs recently conducted in Germany, acupuncture was significantly more effective than doing nothing but not than sham acupuncture. Only for one study of chronic knee pain was acupuncture superior to sham. Brain imaging with functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) may be helpful but is still in its early stages.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose is to examine what is known about the efficacy of selected complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies for pain from arthritis and related conditions based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses. METHODS: Results specifically related to pain were retrieved from review articles of acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal remedies, and selected nutritional supplements.

OBJECTIVE: Physical interventions (nonpharmacological and nonsurgical) are the mainstay of treatment for patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). Physiotherapy is the most common of all physical interventions and includes specific vastus medialis obliquus or general quadriceps strengthening and/or realignment procedures (tape, brace, stretching). These treatments appear to be based on sound theoretical rationale and have attained widespread acceptance, but evidence for the efficacy of these interventions is not well established.

AIM: To determine the effectiveness of acupuncture in controlling pain from arthritis of the knee. DESIGN: Systematic review. DATA SOURCES: MedLine, the Cochrane Library. STUDY SELECTION: Of the 9 studies located, only 4 met the inclusion criteria. All were controlled, randomized clinical trials that studied the effect of acupuncture only in the knee joint. DATA EXTRACTION: Primary outcome variables were intensity of pain, overall measure (general improvement, proportion of patients who recovered, subjective improvement in symptoms) and functional status.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose is to examine what is known about the efficacy of selected complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies for pain from arthritis and related conditions based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses. METHODS: Results specifically related to pain were retrieved from review articles of acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal remedies, and selected nutritional supplements.

One fundamental question that is still not resolved is whether acupuncture needles must be inserted in specific points to have their greatest effects. In the majority of large RCTs recently conducted in Germany, acupuncture was significantly more effective than doing nothing but not than sham acupuncture. Only for one study of chronic knee pain was acupuncture superior to sham. Brain imaging with functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) may be helpful but is still in its early stages.

There are many differing opinions on what constitutes an optimal acupuncture dose for treating any particular patient with any particular condition, and only direct comparisons of different methods in a clinical trial will provide information on which reliable decisions can be made. This article reviews the recent research into acupuncture treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee, to explore whether any aspects of treatment seem more likely to be associated with good outcome of treatment.

Bee venom (BV) acupuncture (BVA) involves injecting diluted BV into acupoints and is used for arthritis, pain, and rheumatoid diseases. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of BVA in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain. Seventeen electronic databases were systematically searched up to September 2007 with no language restrictions. All randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of BVA for patients with musculoskeletal pain were considered for inclusion if they included placebo controls or were controlled against a comparator intervention.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) are commonly treated by physiotherapists in primary care. The physiotherapists use different treatment modalities. In a previous study, we identified variation in the use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), low level laser or acupuncture, massage and weight reduction advice for patients with knee OA. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that might explain variation in treatment modalities for patients with knee OA.