Preliminary Study on Acupuncture Combined with Grain-sized Moxibustion for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis with Finger Joint Pain

Summary

Based on the clinical trial, this study provides a standardized operational reference for treating RA with finger joint pain through acupuncture combined with grain-sized moxibustion by stimulating acupoints and warming. It can be used as an effective complementary therapy for RA pain management due to its efficacy and advantages.

Abstract

Most patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often start with pain and swelling in the joints of the extremities, especially the small joints of the hands. At present, the etiology of RA remains unclear, and its pathological process is difficult to control. In clinical treatment, Western medicine mostly uses non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), glucocorticoids, biologics, etc. While they can alleviate local joint symptoms and reduce inflammatory responses, long-term use may cause significant adverse effects and high costs. In recent years, there has been an increasing application of external Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapies for treating RA, with a growing number of related studies. In this study, we observed acupuncture combined with grain-sized moxibustion in the treatment of RA with finger joint pain, assessed the changes in tender joint counts (TJC), duration of morning stiffness, the visual analog scale (VAS), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) level of the patients before and after treatment. The results indicated that acupuncture combined with grain-sized moxibustion was more effective in reducing finger joint pain compared to therapy with simple basic medication for treating RA. Guided by the theory of syndrome differentiation in TCM, this therapy exerts its effects primarily through the stimulation of acupoints and warmth. It offers advantages such as safety, simplicity, ease of operation, precise targeting, and low price, which makes it expected to become a potential complementary therapy to relieve finger joint pain associated with RA and further improve the quality of life for RA patients. The purpose of this study is to provide a standardized operational reference for treating RA with finger joint pain by acupuncture combined with grain-sized moxibustion based on the clinical trial.

Introduction

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with basic pathological features, including inflammatory cell infiltration, synovial fibroblast proliferation, and cartilage erosion, with a global prevalence rate of approximately 1%¹. Although the etiology and pathogenesis of RA have not been fully clarified, factors such as genetics, environment, and abnormal immune system response play a key role in the pathogenesis of RA². Clinically, RA patients often present with pain and swelling in the joints of the extremities (especially the small joints of the hands), most of which are accompanied by morni....

Protocol

The study adhered to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Dianjiang
Chongqing (cord:2022-KY-NO074-1). Comprehensive information about the study was explained to all recruited participants, and written informed consent was obtained from each participant.

1. Sample collection

1. The randomized controlled trial enrolled 20 patients with RA with finger joint pain from Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Dianjiang, Chongqing, China. Rigorously screen participants based on the following diagnostic, inclusion, and ex....

Results

The comparison of TJC before and after treatment between the two groups is shown in Table 3. Before treatment, there was no statistical significance in the number of joint tenderness between the observation and control groups (p > 0.05), which was comparable. After treatment, the number of patients with joint tenderness in the observation group and the control group was reduced, and the observation group and the control group were compared before and after treatment, respectively, and the two groups w.......

Discussion

RA is a complex and refractory disease, and once diagnosed, it should be given timely and standardized treatment. Currently, Western medicine cannot eliminate the cause but are also accompanied by various toxic side effects. In addition to conventional drug treatments, promising emerging technologies are worth looking forward to, such as Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation (MSCT)⁴¹, and new approaches targeting Toll-like receptor (TLR) function that are being tested⁴²

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
moxa	Nanyang Xingwantang moxa products Co., LTD	XWT0706	none
cotton swabs	Chengdu Zhongxin sanitary materials Co., LTD	20150162	none
disposable sterile acupuncture needles	Suzhou acupuncture & moxibustion applicance Co., LTD.	20162270588	Size:0.25 mm × 25 mm.
water tray	Ningbo Woenmeitte New material Technology Co., LTD	100095207955	none
incense sticks	Jiangsu honorscent Industrial Development Co., LTD	3195415501	Includes: Incense sticks and holder.
iodophor swabs	Zhejiang Beijiaer Health Technology Co., LTD	20160008	none
lighter	Huaku	10089378438744	none
Vaseline	Johnson & Johnson	20241123BAIT	none
sterile dry cotton balls	Qingdao Hainuo Biological Engineering Co., LTD	20120047	none
tweezer	Cofoe Medical Technology Co., LTD	20160012	none
75% ethanol hand sanitizer gel	Qingdao Hainuo Biological Engineering Co., LTD	20162140493	It is suitable for surgical hand disinfection, hygienic hand disinfection in work and life.I used it to disinfect again before taking the disposable sterile acupuncture needle.
IBM SPSS Statistics	IBM	R25.0.0.0	For analysing data.
Adobe Photoshop 2024. Ink	Adobe	version number?24	For editing pictures.
XingTu app	Beijing Yanxuan Technology Co., LTD	version number?11.3.1	This is a very professional retouching software developed in China.Used in pictures for writing and outlining text and lines.