Acupuncture and yoga may reduce arthritis pain and inflammation

Take on rheumatoid arthritis with acupuncture and yoga, suggest experts in the light of new research. A recent analysis of data from 550 people with rheumatoid arthritis has found “a significant effect of yoga and acupuncture interventions in decreasing [disease activity scores] in patients with rheumatoid arthritis”.

What is rheumatoid arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that causes joint pain, swelling and stiffness. It happens when the immune system – our natural self-defence system – attacks the body’s healthy tissues.

How is rheumatoid arthritis treated?

Early diagnosis and treatment is important for avoiding long-term damage to joints.

The aim of treatment is to push the rheumatoid arthritis into remission and this is increasingly achievable, mainly thanks to new generations of drugs. Exercise, healthy eating, giving up smoking and reducing stress all help reduce symptoms and flare-ups too.

What does the new study say about the role of acupuncture and yoga in arthritis?

So can some complementary treatments such as acupuncture. This new study, published in Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2023) concludes that “the practice of yoga and acupuncture in patients with rheumatoid arthritis helped to decrease disease activity through the improvement of pain and joint inflammation”.

In fact, that research group goes so far as to “recommend the implementation of this type of alternative intervention associated with conventional therapies for the management of patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis”.

PS Did you know that Arthritis Digest Magazine is labelled the best UK Arthritis blog from thousands of blogs on the web ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness?