Alternative & Integrative Health Archive

Q. I have had arthritis of the knee for many years, and I prefer not to take medications for the pain. Can acupuncture help?

A. Acupuncture has been promoted for many conditions, but the results for knee arthritis have been mixed. A recent study in The Journal of the American Medical Association showed that acupuncture had a small benefit compared with no treatment in people with knee arthritis. However, when compared with a simulated or "sham" acupuncture treatment; real acupuncture was not more effective. A larger study published in 2006 with more than 1,000 people showed a similar finding.

Botulinum toxin is also an effective treatment for muscle spasms, migraine headaches, incontinence, and more.

You've no doubt witnessed the effect of Botox in the unfurrowed brows of celebrities. But Botox's applications are more than skin deep; the drug has a role in treating disorders that range from migraine headaches to incontinence.

Meditation offers promising benefits for the cardiovascular system.

Many people practice meditation in hopes of staving off stress and stress-related health problems, including heart disease. While some studies of meditation's mental and physical benefits haven't been the most scientifically rigorous, research strongly suggests that this ancient, mind-calming practice can help lower blood pressure—and offers hints of other benefits for the entire cardiovascular system.

Tea drinking isn't harmful and fits well with a healthy lifestyle.

Tea, especially green tea, is often said to be good for your health. But if tea is good for you, how good? And why?

Taking a few minutes to focus your mind each day can reduce stress, pain, depression, and more.

You can't see or touch stress, but you can feel its effects on your mind and body. In the short term, stress quickens your heart rate and breathing and increases your blood pressure. When you're constantly under stress, your adrenal glands overproduce the hormone cortisol. Overexposure to this hormone can affect the function of your brain, immune system, and other organs. Chronic stress can contribute to headaches, anxiety, depression, heart disease, and even premature death.

Though you may not be able to eradicate the roots of stress, you can minimize its effects on your body. One of the easiest and most achievable stress-relieving techniques is meditation, a program in which you focus your attention inward to induce a state of deep relaxation.

Millions of Americans have turned to meditation to reduce stress, ease anxiety, and relieve depression. Although there aren't any risks associated with the practice, there also hasn't been much medical evidence to confirm meditation works. To add some medical validity to the claims about meditation, researchers analyzed 47 studies involving some 3,500 participants. Their review, which was published online January 6, 2014, in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that meditation did improve anxiety, depression, and pain, although it didn't have much of an effect on eating habits, sleep, weight, or attention. One of the techniques studied in the review was mindfulness meditation, which teaches practitioners to sit calmly and quietly and focus their mind inward so they can connect with their body. If you're interested in learning more about this practice, look for a class at a local college or community center.