PITTSBURGH -- The National Institutes of Health recently completed the longest and largest randomized study of acupuncture ever conducted.

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It found the patients with osteoarthritis of the knee who received acupuncture had a 40 percent decrease in pain and nearly 40 percent improvement in function.

That is something Jennifer Whiteside, licensed acupuncturist at Allegheny General Hospital, has also seen in her patients.

Whiteside said acupuncture treatments reduce inflammation, increases circulation, increases mobility and reduces pain.

She said some patients see immediate results others need to be treated several times.

Whiteside said most patients see improvement if “people are willing to work it through and don’t stop just because it doesn’t work right away.”

She has seen man patients with arthritis of the knee and all have improved to some degree.

One patient, an 86-year-old man who couldn’t have surgery, turned to Jennifer.

“He is doing well, feeling great. I only treated him 5 times. He doesn’t need to use his leg brace and cane as much. Another patient, a woman with early arthritis who likes to run, came for preventative treatment. Before treatment she couldn’t run hills. After four treatments she was able to run the Race for the Cure hills and all," she said.

Many of Whiteside’s patients who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis of the fingers and toes are also helped with acupuncture.

Researchers said the study shows acupuncture is an effective companion to conventional treatment of osteoarthritis.

For more information on this study, visit the NIH Web site.

To contact Jennifer Whiteside, AGH Licensed Acupuncturist, call (412) 359-8976 or e-mail her.