Acupuncture Treatment for Knee Pain

Knee pain is a fairly commonly seen problem. Some patients are even advised by specialists to have a knee replacement to stop the pain. The reason provided is that their knees are “bone on bone” because an X-ray or MRI exam showed that there is no tendon in-between the bones.

This problem more often happens to older people, due to degeneration of the cartilage in the knee structure. It is often associated with overweight. Patients complain of pain when walking or stiffness of the joint. Often knee movement is restricted and the condition can be different every day. The knee can be swollen or even deformed, with atrophy of the muscle due to lack of use.  In Western medicine it is generally categorized as osteoarthritis.

Strategy for treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine aims to strengthen the liver system, which nourishes the tendons in the body. When the tendon system undergoes repair, it is not surprising pain associated with it would reduce. Additional care should be taken to remove any bone spur if present. My experience with such cases is that, depending on severity of the case, in a few sessions, there should be substantial reduction of pain and improvement of knee functions. In other words, there can be an alternative to having a pair of metal knees for the condition.

Additionally, while undergoing acupuncture treatment, one should take care not to harm the tendons any further. In particular, one should avoid spicy food, including ginger, to not make the condition worse. With a proper post-treatment care plan, the pain should not come back.