Acupuncture for Joint Pain in Cancer Patients

Recent reports from The Washington Times reveal that acupuncture just might be helpful for women going through painful  treatments for breast cancer.

A popular classification of drugs called aromatase inhibitors is often used to treat breast cancer when it’s detected early – but they can also lead to joint pain. SO bad, in fact, that some women opt to discontinue using the medications just for relief.

Thankfully, a new study from New York Presbyterian, published in the Journal of American Medicine, discovered that acupuncture just might be able to help.

In a study that included research from 226 post-menopausal women who were split into three groups: those who received actual acupuncture, a “fake” treatment, and those who received no treatment at all. The “fake” treatment included needles inserted in their body, but at non-pressure points.

Overall, the group of patients who received true acupuncture reported their pain rating as two full points less than it was prior to treatment starting, while the control group who received nothing had at least .99 less pain.

The Washington Times reports, “researchers called the pain reduction in the true acupuncture group ‘statistically significant but modest improvements.”

Even if only modest, the use of acupuncture to provide any form of relief from women undergoing breast cancer treatments is reassuring.

We have long known that acupuncture can help to provide pain relief and this reaffirms the wide range of modalities as to why patients might seek the holistic treatment.

The use of strategically placed acuneedles throughout targeted acupuncture points can help to restore the flow of “chi” or energy throughout the body – restoring a sense of balance while reducing inflammation and overall pain.

Acupuncture has also been shown to reduce joint pain in arthritic patients, as well as those with injuries or during surgical recovery.