Tired of Arthritis Pain? Explore Natural Relief Options

Arthritis has a way of interrupting your life when you least expect it. One morning it’s your hands struggling to button a shirt. Another, it’s your knees locking up halfway through a grocery trip. You try to keep moving, keep smiling, keep doing — but the stiffness lingers, the swelling flares, and the pain follows you like a shadow.

You’ve tried to manage it. The medications, the exercises, the careful routines. Maybe they helped — for a while. But then another flare-up hits, or the side effects start to wear on you, and you’re left wondering if this is just how it has to be now.

At Nyberg Acupuncture & Wellness in Tualatin, OR, we meet patients every day who’ve been living like this — doing their best to stay ahead of the pain while quietly losing pieces of their independence. What they’re looking for isn’t just relief. It’s the chance to move through life with less fear and more freedom.

There are ways to feel better — to support your body without relying solely on prescriptions or procedures. And it starts by taking your pain seriously.

What Arthritis Really Feels Like: More Than Just Joint Pain

If you’ve lived with arthritis for any length of time, you know it’s not just about joints that “hurt sometimes.” It’s the way your hands don’t cooperate when you’re trying to open a jar. The way your knees lock halfway through a grocery trip. The careful calculations you do every time you consider a walk, a chore, a plan — is it worth the pain?

For many, arthritis means waking up already behind. The morning stiffness can last an hour or more. Your joints feel swollen, hot, and untrustworthy. Some days you move like you’re wading through wet concrete. Other days, the pain feels sharper — like a raw, persistent pulse just beneath the skin. And even when the discomfort fades into the background, the fear of a flare-up remains.

You’re not alone in this. According to a 2023 report from the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults lives with doctor-diagnosed arthritis. That figure rises sharply with age, with more than 50% of people over 75 reporting symptoms.¹ Women and people in rural communities are particularly affected — not just physically, but in how arthritis limits daily activities and independence.¹

What makes it more isolating is how invisible it can be. You might look fine to coworkers or friends while quietly enduring hours of pain. You’ve been told to stretch, to push through, to be grateful it’s “not worse.” But your pain is real. And it doesn’t need to be minimized to be taken seriously.

Different types of arthritis present in different ways. Osteoarthritis — the most common — causes cartilage to wear down over time, leading to bone-on-bone friction and inflammation. Rheumatoid arthritis is driven by the immune system itself, attacking healthy joint tissue and causing widespread, systemic symptoms. No matter the type, arthritis interferes with how you live — not just how you move.

At Nyberg Acupuncture & Wellness, we begin every relationship by listening — not just for symptoms, but for what arthritis has taken from your life. Because pain may start in the joints, but it rarely stays there.

Why Standard Arthritis Treatments Aren’t Enough for Everyone

Most people with arthritis don’t give up easily. They try the medications, the diet changes, the physical therapy. And for some, those tools bring relief. But for many others, the pain keeps returning — or never fully leaves. It shifts from joint to joint. It flares at the worst moments. It forces hard choices about work, sleep, and even social plans.

First-line treatments for arthritis usually include medications like NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and corticosteroids. These therapies can help reduce inflammation, relieve pain, and improve mobility — but they’re far from perfect. NSAIDs can irritate the stomach. Steroids, especially when used long-term, may lead to weight gain, mood swings, or increased blood sugar.²

For some, especially those with severe joint damage, surgery becomes an option. Joint replacements can offer significant relief — but they’re invasive and require a long recovery. Others are offered cortisone injections, which can bring short-term relief but often come with diminishing returns or risks when used repeatedly. If you’re looking for an alternative to arthritis injections that supports long-term healing, integrative therapies like acupuncture may offer a gentler and more sustainable option.²

The good news? Many people with arthritis can still lead active, productive lives when treatment is well-matched to their needs.³ But for those still living with pain, stiffness, or fatigue, a more integrative approach may offer added relief — one that supports the whole person, not just the affected joint.

At Nyberg Acupuncture & Wellness, we work with patients navigating these complex decisions. Our therapies are designed to complement traditional care, helping you move through your day with greater ease and confidence — because relief should feel like real progress, not a temporary pause.

Exploring Natural Relief: What Holistic Arthritis Care Looks Like

When your joints hurt every day, you start scanning the world for anything that might help. The turmeric tea your neighbor swears by. The joint support vitamins stacked on pharmacy shelves. The yoga instructor who says movement is medicine. For many people living with arthritis, these aren’t “alternative” ideas — they’re real attempts to reclaim comfort when conventional medicine doesn’t go far enough.

Holistic arthritis care isn’t about rejecting Western treatments. It’s about looking at the whole picture — your pain, your lifestyle, your energy, your sleep, your emotional well-being — and asking what more can be done to support healing from multiple angles.

Patients often explore:

• Anti-inflammatory nutrition, like Mediterranean-style eating or eliminating trigger foods
• Supplements, including omega-3s, curcumin, glucosamine, or vitamin D
• Gentle movement, such as yoga, tai chi, or aquatic exercise
• Mind-body practices, like meditation or breathwork to manage stress and pain perception

These approaches won’t reverse arthritis, but they can reduce symptom severity, improve joint function, and enhance overall resilience. And for those seeking more clinical support without jumping straight to surgery or long-term pharmaceuticals, acupuncture offers one of the most studied and promising natural options.

In the next section, we’ll look at how acupuncture actually works in the body — and what the research says about its ability to reduce pain and inflammation in arthritis patients.

How Acupuncture Helps Relieve Arthritis Pain and Inflammation

For many people with arthritis, the pain feels like it’s woven into everything — getting up, sitting down, walking, thinking. It doesn’t just live in the joints. It wears down your energy, your sleep, and your patience. And when medications stop working — or never fully worked to begin with — it’s easy to feel like nothing will help.

This is often where people start to explore acupuncture. Not because they’ve “given up,” but because they’re ready for something that works differently — and more gently.

Acupuncture has been used for centuries to relieve pain, but what’s especially encouraging today is that modern research supports its use in arthritis treatment. Multiple clinical studies show that acupuncture can significantly reduce pain, improve joint function, and decrease inflammation in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.⁴⁻⁷

Here’s how acupuncture helps with arthritis pain:

1. Pain Modulation

When tiny needles are inserted into specific acupuncture points, they stimulate the nervous system to release natural pain-relieving chemicals — including endorphins, serotonin, and enkephalins.⁴ These substances help interrupt pain signals to the brain and create a calming, analgesic effect.

2. Anti-Inflammatory Effects

Inflammation is at the core of many types of arthritis. Acupuncture helps regulate immune function and reduce the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines — the chemical messengers that worsen joint swelling and stiffness.⁵ In animal models, acupuncture has been shown to lower levels of TNF-α and IL-6, which are key contributors to arthritis-related inflammation.⁶

3. Improved Circulation and Tissue Repair

By increasing local blood flow, acupuncture helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to damaged tissues. This promotes healing and eases the stiffness that many arthritis patients feel after periods of rest.⁷

4. Nervous System Balance

Chronic pain often leads to heightened nerve sensitivity. Acupuncture has been shown to help calm overactive nerve pathways, which not only reduces pain perception but can also help with fatigue, anxiety, and poor sleep — symptoms that frequently accompany arthritis.⁵

And unlike many conventional treatments, acupuncture carries minimal side effects, is non-addictive, and can be adapted to the unique needs of each patient. It doesn’t force the body to change — it supports the body in doing what it’s already trying to do: find balance, reduce harm, and heal. You can learn more about how we use acupuncture to treat chronic pain here.

What to Expect from Holistic Arthritis Care at Nyberg Acupuncture

If you’ve been living with arthritis — whether it’s a recent diagnosis or something you’ve managed for years — you deserve a care plan that sees the whole picture. Not just what shows up on imaging or in your chart, but how it’s affecting your energy, your routines, your relationships, and your ability to live freely in your body.

At Nyberg Acupuncture & Wellness in Tualatin, Oregon, we specialize in whole-person arthritis care for patients across the Greater Portland area. That means listening deeply, understanding what you’ve tried, and offering support that meets you exactly where you are.

Here’s what you can expect when you come to us for help with arthritis pain and inflammation:

A Personalized Consultation

We begin with a one-on-one consultation with Dr. Jeffrey Savage, DACM, LAc. During this visit, we’ll review your full health history, current symptoms, past treatments, and lifestyle. This allows us to understand the patterns beneath your pain — not just the joints that hurt.

A Root-Cause, Integrative Approach

Your care plan won’t focus on just symptom relief (though reducing pain is absolutely a goal). Instead, we design an approach that supports your body’s ability to shift out of inflammation and into healing.

Depending on your needs, your arthritis care plan may include:

• Acupuncture – To reduce inflammation, regulate immune function, and ease joint pain and stiffness.
• ATP Resonance BioTherapy® – This non-invasive therapy uses low-level electrical currents to help reduce inflammation, enhance circulation, and modulate the body’s pain signaling pathways. Think of it like a software update for the nervous system: it delivers specific frequencies to targeted areas, helping the body "relearn" how to heal and respond to stress signals more appropriately. For many arthritis patients, this can mean fewer flare-ups, less stiffness, and a more comfortable baseline.

By combining acupuncture with ATP Resonance BioTherapy®, we’re able to take your care a step further — addressing both the local pain in your joints and the deeper systemic imbalances that drive inflammation.

A Calming, Supportive Environment

We know that chronic pain often comes with frustration, fatigue, and feeling like you’re not being heard. That’s why we’ve created a calm, respectful space where patients can feel truly seen. You don’t have to explain why the pain is “real.” We already believe you.

If you're curious about how this integrative approach could support you or your loved one, the best next step is a consultation — no pressure, just a space to explore what’s possible.

Ready to Take the First Step Toward Relief?

Living with arthritis can feel like carrying a weight that others can’t see — but you don’t have to carry it alone. At Nyberg Acupuncture & Wellness in Tualatin, we offer integrative, evidence-based care designed to help you move with less pain and more ease.

Call us at +1 (503) 336-4747 to schedule your consultation with Dr. Jeffrey Savage, DACM, LAc. We serve Tualatin and the Greater Portland Area with care that’s rooted in expertise, compassion, and real results. If you prefer to start online, visit our New Patient Offer page and a member of our team will follow up to schedule your visit.

You’ve tried to manage it — now let’s see if we can help you change it.

Frequently Asked Questions About Arthritis and Acupuncture

• How can I relieve arthritis pain naturally?

  Natural arthritis pain relief often includes a combination of movement, anti-inflammatory foods, stress reduction, and integrative therapies like acupuncture. Acupuncture is especially effective for reducing joint pain and inflammation without medication. At Nyberg Acupuncture & Wellness, we build treatment plans that support the body’s ability to heal itself — gently, but powerfully.

• Does acupuncture actually help with arthritis?

  Yes. Clinical research shows that acupuncture can reduce joint pain, stiffness, and inflammation in both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. It works by modulating the nervous system and supporting circulation, which promotes natural healing. You can read more in our posts on rheumatoid arthritis and knee osteoarthritis.

• What types of arthritis respond best to acupuncture?

  Acupuncture has been shown to help with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and other inflammatory joint conditions. Because it reduces pain and calms the immune system, it’s especially helpful for arthritis that isn’t well managed by medication alone.

• Is acupuncture a safe alternative to arthritis medications?

  For many people, yes. Acupuncture can be a safe, drug-free option or work alongside medications to enhance results and reduce side effects. At our Tualatin clinic, we also use ATP Resonance BioTherapy® to take this care further — helping to regulate inflammation and improve how the body responds to pain over time.

• What’s the best arthritis treatment near Tualatin or Portland?

  The best treatment is one that fits your unique symptoms and goals. At Nyberg Acupuncture & Wellness in Tualatin, we help people across the Greater Portland Area find lasting relief using advanced acupuncture techniques and integrative therapies like ATP Resonance BioTherapy®. For those hoping to avoid long-term medication or surgery, our care offers a natural, research-backed path to feeling better.

References:

1. Boersma P, Zelaya CE, Villarroel MA. Arthritis in adults aged 18 and over: United States, 2022. NCHS Data Brief, no 497. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2024. Accessed May 30, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db497.htm
2. Arthritis | Johns Hopkins Medicine. Accessed May 31, 2025. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/arthritis
3. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Arthritis. Video: Arthritis Explained. Published May 17, 2024. Accessed May 31, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyjFk5Z-rJE
4. Sun J, Liang Y, Luo KT, et al. Efficacy of different acupuncture techniques for pain and dysfunction in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial. Pain Ther. 2025;14(2):737-751. doi:10.1007/s40122-025-00713-x
5. Lu HL, Chang CM, Hsieh PC, Wang JC, Kung YY. The effects of acupuncture and related techniques on patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Chin Med Assoc. 2022;85(3):388-400. doi:10.1097/JCMA.0000000000000659
6. Yu WL, Kim SN. The effect of acupuncture on pain and swelling of arthritis animal models: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Genet. 2023;14:1153980. doi:10.3389/fgene.2023.1153980
7. Yin S, Chang Y, Yan X, Feng X, Wu N. Effect of acupuncture for patients with knee osteoarthritis: Study protocol for a double-dummy randomized controlled trial. J Orthop Surg Res. 2023;18(1):779. doi:10.1186/s13018-023-04198-2