BEE venom therapy has been used for treating conditions including arthritis. The assumption behind the treatment is that bee stings cause inflammation leading to an anti-inflammatory response by the immune system.
Could bee venom halt the destruction of cartilage, the body’s built-in ‘shock absorber, and the reason for arthritis? Can it ease joint pain and stiffness? There are no drugs to cure arthritis and many sufferers rely on anti-inflammatory painkillers to ease their suffering. However, bee venom can help to ensure relief from joint aches from not-too-severe cases of osteoarthritis, said Dr Najimu Raji, a physiotherapist at the Adeoyo Hospital Yemetu, Oyo State.
“In some of my trials, it works for pain relief when the problem has just started and depending on the severity of the condition. Those with aching joints who have been managing it for several years don’t usually get much relief from bee venom therapy over time, due to the wear and tear in the cartilage. The cartilage soaks up the impact from walking, running or lifting so that bones do not rub together and disintegrate. The friction makes joints swollen and extremely painful. So, bee venom therapy might just give a mild relief,” Dr Raji said.
Arthritis is a term that typically refers to a joint disease; it is a problem of the joint. It has been used colloquially to mean any joint pain, but not every joint pain is arthritis. Also, arthritis is not one disease. There are over 100 types of arthritis. However, the commonest one is called osteoarthritis. That’s the type typically found in elderly people.
The joint is a point where two bones meet, but they are not completely joined. The commonest joints that it affects are those used more frequently than others, especially the hips, back, wrist and knee.
The major aims of treatment are to relieve pain and swelling, reduce inflammation and joint damage, prevent disability and preserve or improve patients’ well-being and function. Untreated arthritis leads to joint destruction, functional limitation and severe disability, and has a significant impact on health-related quality of life.
According to Dr Raji, seven to 10 live bees are used to sting the aching joint and it is done at least three times a week.
“Initially, the joint after the bee sting will swell. As the swelling is going down, so also will the pain in the joint. But, the joint shouldn’t be massaged after the sting.
“A joint is a bony area. That joint is inflamed, it is a sore. It is like if you have a wound over your skin and you are now pressing it; you’re making sorer.”
Dr Raji, however, advised that in treating arthritis, bee venom therapy should be combined with physiotherapy.
“When you use the bee stings, you also do another therapy. For instance, prescribed exercises like cycling by a physiotherapist will help to improve the range of motion in the affected joints and prevent it from becoming stiff. Also, there is the need for strengthening exercises for the muscles in the affected limb so that they do not become weak,” he added.
Dr Raji emphasized that all joint problems be assessed and treated promptly to prevent further damage to the joint.
“It is not all joint pains that are due to osteoarthritis. It might be from other disease conditions. So, it is important to seek care on time and be counseled appropriately to arrest the problem from getting worse. In Yoruba parlance, many refer to osteoarthritis as lagun lagun, lakuregbe or awoka. It starts with one joint, but over time, the other joints in the body also begin to ache.”
Bee venom seems to prevent arthritis with the help of hormones called glucocorticoids. These hormones help regulate inflammation.
Although bee venom therapy is largely an unproven technique, some physicians report good results using bee venom to treat not only pain but arthritic conditions, multiple sclerosis, and other health woes. Other practitioners treat high blood pressure, asthma, hearing loss, and even premenstrual syndrome with bee venom.
In a 2020 review of the clinical effectiveness of bee venom and adverse events induced by bee venom, regardless of the disease, researchers stated that despite causing mild skin reactions such as pruritus, rash, and swelling, bee venom showed therapeutic effectiveness in treating inflammatory arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases.
This study in the journal, Toxins, suggests that large-scale clinical trials on bee venom need to be conducted and that a reporting system for adverse events needs to be developed to enhance the validity of bee venom treatment.
The review included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using any type of bee venom other than live bee stings for the clinical treatment of any disease other than cancer.
Twelve RCTs were included in this review—three on Parkinson’s disease, four on arthralgia, four on musculoskeletal disorders, and one on polycystic ovary syndrome. The types of bee venom used were bee venom acupuncture, bee venom injections and bee venom cream.
But some caution is necessary because a bee sting can be deadly to those who are allergic. Apitherapy patients must first be tested. Bee venom is given as a shot for bee sting allergy.
