Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment for Arthritis

Traditional Chinese medicine treatments for arthritis mainly include acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, manipulation and other treatments. Arthritis is a kind of chronic joint disease characterized by degenerative changes of articular cartilage and secondary osteophytes whose etiology is still unclear. After the onset of arthritis, patients mainly manifest joint pain, redness, swelling, stiffness, etc., and with the development of the disease, there will also be deformation of the joints, swelling and other symptoms. 1. Acupuncture treatment: Acupuncture has the effect of supporting the positive and dispelling the evil (supporting the positive qi in the body and dispelling the evil qi in the body), dredging the meridians and collaterals, and it has a better therapeutic effect on the symptoms of arthritis, such as local pain and stiffness. 2. Chinese medicine treatment: Cold-damp type arthritis manifests as swollen and painful joints, fear of cold and other symptoms, and the treatment mainly focuses on dispersing cold and removing dampness, warming the meridians and collaterals; damp-heat type arthritis manifests as redness and swelling of the joints, pain and fever, and other symptoms, and the treatment mainly focuses on clearing heat and eliminating dampness (removing heat and dampness in the body), and clearing the channels and stopping pain (dredging the meridians and collaterals and relieving the pain). Blood stasis type arthritis shows symptoms such as fixed joint pain and pain like pins and needles, etc. The treatment mainly focuses on activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis (promoting blood circulation and eliminating blood stasis in the body), and clearing channels and relieving pain (dredging channels and collaterals and relieving pain). 3. Manipulative therapy: Through massage and stretching to loosen the muscles around the joints and open the joint cavity to help patients loosen the tension and spasm of the soft tissues and increase the mobility of the joints. Arthritis patients are advised to go to regular hospitals in time and follow the doctor’s instructions for treatment, and not to dispose of it by themselves in order to avoid delaying the condition.