Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese treatment philosophy that makes use of extremely fine needles that are sterilized and inserted at specific acupuncture points in the body that lie on the energy pathways. Acupuncture has many votaries who vouch for its effectiveness in controlling pain and allergies. It is also used as an anesthetic procedure for surgical operations. Nerves stimulated by acupuncture needles are said to block pain. The philosophy of acupuncture focuses on the balance of Yin and Yang that govern the flow of energy (chi) in the human body. Acupuncture practitioners also make use of electrical impulses (electroacupuncture) and heat (moxibustion).

Osteoarthritis

Obesity is strongly associated with osteoarthritis, and in particular a dose dependent relationship has been found to exist between BMI and risk of developing osteoarthritis of the knees. Excessive osteoarthritis of otherwise healthy joints is known to contribute towards osteoarthritis, but obesity is also a risk factor for developing osteoarthritis in non-weight-bearing joints, and current research indicates a more complex relationship exists between osteoarthritis and obesity than can be explained by biomechanical stress alone.