Health Watch: Stopping Arthritis Pain With Biopuncture

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Simply walking her dog used to be torture for 51-year-old Terri LaRoche. She has a common problem, arthritis in both knees.

"It was very depressing. I didn't really want to do anything cause it hurt so bad," said Terri.

She tried the typical treatments, like anti-inflammatory and pain medications, which caused side effects and didn't work that well, and neither did cortisone shots or physical therapy. Every day was a struggle until she found biopuncture.

"I can't believe it. I didn't think it was going to work, but it did," said Terri.

Biopuncture is a series of homeopathic injections that contain substances like arnica, zeel, and traumeel, different combinations are injected into the painful area.

"Substances that we're using, they stimulate that natural healing process rather than suppressing the healing process, like you find with steroids or anti-inflammatory medicines. They truly promote healing," said Dr. Robert Davis, with Integrated Family Medicine in Voorhees. He says biopuncture stimulates the immune system, and can improve blood flow and relax muscles to relieve pain.

"These are the main substances we use. Many times we start with lymphomyosot. It's great for detoxifications, preparing the areas and drainage," said Dr. Davis.

He says biopuncture, that cost between $85 and $150 a session, has been successfully used to treat things like sports injuries, sciatica, and tendonitis.

"There are major orthopedists around the world who have used these things, and Olympic athletes. There are tons of studies that have been done, and really the proof is what we see with our patients," said Dr. Davis.

"I was cured. My achilles was cured," said Howard Lomazoff, who is 60-year-old. He thought he'd never play tennis again after injuring his achilles tendon. Biopuncture got him back on the court.

"It almost seemed like voodoo medicine. And I don't know if I really believed it, but it worked. It worked beautifully," said Howard.

But there are plenty of skeptics who say homeopathic treatments, like Biopuncture, have limited value. And while the products are FDA approved, the use of them for pain relief is not. That's not something the government regulates.

For more information on Integrated Family Medicine, CLICK HERE.

Reported by Stephanie Stahl, CBS 3