Is Bee Venom Therapy the Breakthrough Treatment for Arthritis?


Bee venom therapy is not only new but also an unproven technique as far as science is concerned. Despite this, around 50 U.S. physicians, at the time of writing, have reported promising results using bee's venom. They have used it to treat pain in general, but also arthritic conditions and multiple sclerosis. Other practitioners have been trying this natural venom to treat high blood pressure, hearing loss, and a number of other health issues. Despite the research being ongoing and not yet conclusive, it seems that everyone is waking up to the potential of bee venom therapy.  Alternative medicine is quite often something patients turn to when all conventional treatments have failed them.

My Notes:

Who would have thought that a bee sting has the potential to help relieve the symptoms of arthritis? In China, this is nothing new. In fact, the Chinese use bee sting therapy to treat a plethora of illnesses from arthritis to cancer. So the question is this: does it work?

They jury is out on whether bee venom is an effective treatment for arthritis. This refers more to the scientific community than actual patients. In China, it's not even disputed.

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (eCAM), have this to say on the subject:

Bee venom has been used to treat various conditions for centuries, often through acupuncture.

If this is the case, then surely there must be something in it. After all, anything that's been around for hundreds of years to treat millions of people has to mean something.



One thing is certain, and that is researchers in The West would not be exploring the potential of bee sting therapy if they didn't believe in its potential. In fact, current research now looks at how effective the venom can be for treating arthritis. The focus is particularly on rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Human Studies

A study published in the Chinese journal Acupuncture Research was of particular interest. One hundred RA patients took part in the research. Out of the 100 volunteers, 50 percent used traditional oral medicine. The other 50 percent used oral medicine plus bee venom. After three months the results were in. Researchers found that both groups had experienced a reduction in joint swelling and pain.

According to the study, one group saw more improvement than the other. If you haven't guessed it yet, this was the group that used bee venom as well as their traditional medicine. Pain and discomfort aside, the patients who took bee venom and oral medicine also had stronger grasp force. Furthermore, their relapse rate was lower too.

Animal Studies

In a separate study, researchers looked at the effect of bee venom in lab rats. They found that adjuvant arthritis was prevented in rats treated with the whole bee venom. For the record, scientists believe that adjuvant arthritis in rats models RA in humans.

The researchers discovered that only whole bee venom worked in the rats. When they used only certain parts of the venom, it didn't prevent the arthritis.

Controversial Among Skeptics

Like all less conventional medicine, there exists some controversy and skepticism surrounding bee sting therapy. Despite the studies thus far, the effects of bee venom acupuncture (BVA) on arthritis remain inconclusive. In total, researchers found 15 studies that actually met their criteria. The problem is that these studies were too small to be considered serious. What that means in scientific terms is the evidence is too limited to be conclusive. Scientists will therefore have to carry out more studies and larger trials to test BVA.

The study below gives a more scientific insight into this:

doi:  10.1093/ecam/neh070
An Overview of Bee Venom Acupuncture in the Treatment of Arthritis
Jae-Dong Lee, Hi-Joon Park, Younbyoung Chae, and Sabina Lim.



Summary

There's no doubt of the possible benefits of adding bee venom therapy to traditional arthritis treatments. Even though this is a natural form of treatment, it's never a good idea to continue without professional guidance. Depending on where you are in the world, there may be some ‘hole-in-the-wall' operations that provide this service. It's vital that you talk to your doctor about this first. This goes for any complimentary therapies, and not just that involving bee venom.

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