Have you tried acupuncture for osteoarthritis?

Hi all, I hope you're all coping during this terrible period! My wife and I have recently gotten into more natural or alternative practices for our health (tai chi and meditation most notably) and we were thinking about looking into acupuncture. My wife has OA in her knee and while the tai chi is helping a bit with movement, she still has quite a bit of inflammation and pain. I was wondering if anyone had tried acupuncture for their OA? I've read things on the internet saying that it some people see benefits and other don't. I'd appreciate any advice you all have. 

@bobM1972 Hello bobM1972, thank you for opening this discussion. I'm glad to hear that the tai chi is helping your wife! Let me tag some members who may be able to comment on this:

Hello everyone, how are you this morning? Have you heard of acupuncture for treatment of osteoarthritis? Have you tried it yourself? What do you think? Do you think it could be beneficial for OA? Feel free to share here!
@Binbin‍ @StrongTea‍ @Jane61‍ @Newton‍ @Deet56‍ @Lamarina08‍ @Loganlee‍ @Stoc3855‍ @daisythegoldenthread.co.uk‍ @Pixdee‍ @April68‍ @Hectic‍ @Nicky390‍ @MazMand‍ @Twit2006‍ @Grandma6‍

Take care,
Courtney

Hi, 

I had been receiving acupuncture for OA fortnightly before Covid-19 arrived on the scene.

It made a huge difference in pain levels and I was actually finding myself to be able to do short running distances at work (I am an Autism Practitioner). I had found my old self confidence again.

Sadly though due to the pandemic my treatment has been put on hold and I am suffering drastically. I have had to increase pain relief to 100mg tramadol twice daily and use a knee support. I have OA in hips and knees with one hip that has already been replaced.

If anyone has the chance to try acupuncture I would truly recommend it.

Hi Bob,

I tried acupuncture for the arthritis in my knees for a couple of months but it never worked for me so i gave it up. My bosses wife tried it and it worked for her. Everyone is different and it's worth a shot. I am going to try acupressure next to see if that will work better for myself. Good luck.

I never found any pain relief with acupuncture but have heard that some others do. I think anything is worth a try to relieve some of the pain. So although it did not help me I would not rule it out.