It has been well studied that Acupuncture is effective as a pain management treatment. A specific disease that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is known to help is gout. Often found in the foot, gout can cause painful swelling that makes it hard to walk or carry on with everyday activities.
What is Gout?
Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis, sometimes called gouty arthritis, that develops over time. The arthritis is caused by a build up of uric acid crystals in a joint, leading to pain and swelling during a flare up. In typical treatments, pain medication and anti-inflammatories would be used for pain relief and other medications to bring down uric acid levels.
Acupuncture Treatment for Gout
However, studies show that Acupuncture and TCM can be more effective in giving patients immediate pain relief, as well as help bring down uric acid levels, compared to typical drug treatments. Some studies even showed that while there were improvement of symptoms from both drug and acupuncture treatments, acupuncture treatments caused fewer adverse reactions. Acupuncture offers an effective and well-tolerated alternative that can relieve gout and improve your body's functions.
Lifestyle Changes
Gout can be managed with changes to diet and lifestyle, finding a proper lifestyle that can prevent future attacks. TCM can offer a holistic approach that looks over your whole diet and lifestyle to create a treatment plan that relieves pain and help prevent new flares. Lifestyle changes like avoiding sugar and alcohol, and exercising more is part of a healthy lifestyle, which not only will help reverse gout, but also increase your body's overall health.
Seeking Treatment
Interested in TCM? UEWM Clinic offers TCM treatments like acupuncture, tuina and herbal medicines. Look at our Specialists's page to learn more.
Talk to your doctor to see if acupuncture may be a good option for you, or schedule with UEWM Clinic here.
For more information about UEWM Clinic visit our website at www.uewmclinic.com