During the past year I've seen several patient after total joint replacement surgery. Acupuncture helped relieve pain and assisted their progress towards regaining strength and range of motion through better performance during physical therapy sessions. There were no cases of infections and the scars healed well.
A study was conducted by Raj K. Sinha, Deidre Braun, and Robert Murphy and published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery - British Volume, Vol 90-B, Issue SUPP_I, 184. They concluded that acupuncture indeed "reduced narcotic usage and improve physical therapy after total joint replacement." See the complete article:
More studies need to be done on this subject, but my experience has been so positive that I encourage those needing joint replacement to seek treatments from a licensed acupuncturist for help with pain relief and optimal healing.
