Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Acupuncture And Massage Therapies For Arthritis


Affecting an approximately seventy million Americans, arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Arthritis is complex disease that can hit at any virtually any age and featuring more than one hundred various conditions. Of the multitude of arthritis disorders, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the two most common. For this reason the idea of acupuncture and massage therapies for arthritis treatment has suddenly become quite popular.

Osteoarthritis: Osteoarthritis is the most common form of the disease in the United States. Stricking a record twenty-one million Americans, osteoarthritis is a systematic shutdown of the joint cartiledge that ultimately leads to severe pain and stiffness. The hips, knees, fingers, and spine are the most common comfort zones for osteoarthritis, with the wrists, elbows, shoulders, and ankles less commonly affected. When the disease deviates into a uncommon area of affliction it is typically due to an pre-existing injury. Work related injuries are frequent causes of the development of osteoarthritis. For example, professions where bending, kneeling, and squatting is the main attraction feature an elevated risk of osteoarthritis of the knee.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: In contrast to osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis can actually affect various joint and some patients feel the disease's effects in other parts of the body, including the blood, the lungs, the tissue of the skin, as well as the heart. Rheumatoid arthritis, which can be long-term, is characterized by an inflammation of the joints called synovium, the inflammation causes joint swelling, stiffness, warmth, and redness. The affected joints may lose their shape, thus losing the ability to move normally.

Acupuncture and Massage Therapies for Arthritis Treatment

In recent years, the use of acupuncture and massage therapies for arthritis treatment have pointed to the therapies' potential as effective alternatives to mainstream medicines. And that's not all that the use of acupuncture and massage therapies for arthritis treatments have in common, both alternative treatments have beginnings that are deeply rooted in the mystical world of ancient medicine. Just take a look at acupuncture.

Acupuncture For Arthritis Treatment: Acupuncture, and other types of oriental medicines, have been wildly successful in treating the pain and inflammation affiliated with various types of arthritis. Ancient Chinese medicine custom fits acupuncture treatment according to the individual arthritis symptoms of patients with a unique combo of acupuncture therapy, Chinese herbs, body work, and lifestyle changes. Even dietary changes and energentic exercises are a big part of treating arthritis through acupuncture.

The acupuncture points used to treat arthritis aren't just located over the throbbing area, but rather in different areas located over the entire body. You may just find those tiny acupuncture needles placed in every area from your legs to your arms right on down to your baby toe! Don't let the needles frighten you, some people take their acupuncture session as an opportunity to catch up on a few Z's. Session last between five minutes and a half an hour, but arthritis patients may require multiple trips to their acupuncturist depending on the severity of the disease.

As a follow-up to your visit, your acupuncturist may also provide you with prescribed Chinese herbal formulas specifically designed to alleviate the symptoms of arthritis. Chinese herbs used to treat arthritis as a part of acupuncture therapy are:

  • Juan Bi Tang
  • Cinnamon Twig
  • Peony
  • Anjelica Pubescens
  • A Scadanavian study of thirty-two hip replacement/arthritis patients found that twenty-five percent of the patients who received acupuncture therapy experienced such surges in their functionability that they decide they didn't need that hip replaced after all.

    Massage Therapy for Arthritis: Both acupuncture and massage therapies for arthritis treatment are used as cutting edge alternatives to contemporary medicine, but did you know that they both got their start in the ancient world? It was the ancient Greek Hippocrates who first suggested that "rubbing" be used as a remedy for loosening a "hard joint-" that was over two thousand years ago. Massage therapy is believed to work in a few ways in combating arthritis:

  • Improving joint movement
  • Relaxing tense muscles
  • Stimulating blood flow to the skin
  • And if one form of massage therapy doesn't work for you, don't sweat it. There are several very popular massage therapy programs to choose from:

  • Swedish Massage
  • Deep Tissue Massage
  • Trigger Point Therapy
  • Acupressure
  • Reflexology
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