THE USE OF ACUPUNCTURE AS AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF TREATMENT IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Introduction: Acupuncture is the most prevalent method of alternative therapy nowadays. It is used in rheumatic diseases and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Purpose: The purpose of this review was to investigate the literature on acupuncture as an alternative therapy in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Material and Methods: It was conducted a review in researches in Greek and international databases (Medline and Scopus) with the following keywords: “acupuncture”, “Rheumatoid Arthritis”, “alternative treatment” and the combination of. The studies were published in the period 2010-2015. Results: Acupuncture partly helps in alleviating the symptoms of the disease, particularly alleviating joint pain and swelling. It has been proved that acupuncture using electricity compared to the Traditional Chinese acupuncture has better results. Conclusions: Acupuncture is not a single effective treatment, but helps in eliminating the symptoms. The combination of the drug therapy is the most common