One of the most problematic joints as we age is our knee joint. The tendons & ligaments around the knee can weaken, the cartilage that supports and braces the joint can wear out, and the kneecap can grind against the femur or tibia. Most knee problems can be avoided by taking care of your knees when you walk, before there is a problem that needs fixing. But what do you do if there is an accident or if you learn how to care for yourself too late? Modern medicine would tell you that after trauma or surgery, or even just with age, arthritis in the knee and it’s resulting pain is almost unavoidable. I’m happy to say this isn’t true.
We’ve spoken more generally about acupuncture treating arthritis here, and the points brought up in that post are applicable. Today though we’re going to take a close-up look at how we might use acupuncture for one particular area of the body.
First, some research. Studies show that acupuncture is effective for managing pain and restoring function in the knee. Moxabustion – a form of heat therapy we talk about here – is also shown to be superior to drugs for arthritic knee pain & range of motion problems.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way – what would treatment actually look like? Acupuncture & moxabustion treatment for knee arthritis would have three main components. First, we would treat directly at the knee, to help eliminate pain and reduce any swelling or inflammation. Second, we would look at a patient’s overall body structure to check for how the knee got to be the way it is. Most knee problems are really structural problems with the hip or ankle. So we would look for those and treat that too, to loosen up tight muscles or help even out gait. And third, we would treat globally, to help with systemic problems or deal with other complaints.
This combination of local and global treatment has worked great for our patients. Do you want to know if it will help you? Schedule a consultation with us today – we would love to help you be free of pain.
