Complementary medicine for the management of knee and hip osteoarthritis - A patient perspective

Prevalence and correlates of the use of complementary and alternative medicines among older adults with joint pain

BACKGROUND

There is increasing use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) alone or as an adjuvant therapy to conventional medicines in osteoarthritis (OA) patients.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to describe the prevalence and correlates of the use of CAMs among community-dwelling older adults.

METHODS

Data from the Tasmania Older Adult Cohort Study (TASOAC, n = 1099) were used to describe the prevalence of CAM use. Correlates of CAM use were assessed by comparing CAM users and non-users. To further assess correlates of CAM use, participants with at least one joint with pain were classified into four categories: CAM-only, analgesics-only, co-therapy, and "neither CAMs nor analgesics" (NCNA).

RESULTS

In all, 385 (35.0%) of our participants reported use of CAMs, among which vitamins/minerals were used most (22.6%, n = 232). Compared with CAM non-users, CAM users were more likely to be female, were less likely to be overweight, were better educated, had more joints with OA, had fewer WOMAC scores, and did more steps per day. Among participants with any joint pain, the CAM-only group were less likely to be overweight, consumed more alcohol, had higher quality of life, had more steps per day, and had fewer pain-related symptoms compared with the analgesic-only group.

CONCLUSION

Complementary and alternative medicines were commonly used among Tasmanian older adults, with 35% of the population using CAMs either alone or in combination with conventional analgesics. CAM users were more likely to be female, be better educated, have more joints with OA, and had healthier lifestyles, including lower body mass index and higher number of steps per day.

Utilization of Complementary and Integrative Health Care by People With Spinal Cord Injury in the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems: A Descriptive Study

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the use of complementary and integrative health care (CIH) by people with spinal cord injury.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional self-report study.

SETTING

Participants were recruited from 5 Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) centers across the United States.

INTERVENTIONS

Not applicable.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 411 persons enrolled in the SCIMS completing their SCIMS follow-up interview between January 2017 and July 2019 (N = 411).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Participants completed a survey developed for this study that included questions about types of CIH currently and previously used, reasons for current and previous use, reasons for discontinuing use of CIH, and reasons for never using CIH since injury.

RESULTS

Of the 411 respondents, 80.3% were current or previous users of CIH; 19.7% had not used CIH since injury. The most commonly used current types of CIH were multivitamins (40.0%) and massage (32.6%), whereas the most common previously used type of CIH was acupuncture (33.9%). General health and wellness (61.4%) and pain (31.2%) were the most common reasons for using CIH. The primary reason for discontinuing CIH was that it was not helpful (42.1%). The primary reason for not using CIH since injury was not knowing what options are available (40.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

These results point to the importance for rehabilitation clinicians to be aware that their patients may be using 1 or more CIH approaches. Providers should be open to starting a dialogue to ensure the health and safety of their patients because there is limited information on safety and efficacy of CIH approaches in this population. These results also set the stage for further analysis of this data set to increase our knowledge in this area.