Heather Boon, BScPhm, PhD and Michael Smith, BPharm, MRPharmS, ND
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 Reduction of knee pain on walking and reduction in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis composite index were also noted. Another randomized, controlled double-blind, double-dummy, crossover study (with a 1-week washout period) compared the effectiveness of ginger (170 mg of EV.ext-33 extract), ibuprofren (400 mg) and placebo in 56 patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee.26 Overall, ibuprofen was found to be better than ginger which was found to be better than placebo. |
| While the cat's claw extract decreased knee pain on movement and the amount of inflammatory mediators in the blood, there was no change in pain at rest or decrease in knee circumference.20
Cat's claw may also have some benefits in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In a small randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 40 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis treated with conventional care (sulfasalazine or hydroxychloroquine) were treated with an extract of the pentacyclic chemotype of Uncaria tomentosa. |
John Heinerman
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 Oriental Treatment for Knee Pain
Kato Ti, a Hong Kong herb doctor, has a sensible solution for treating knee pain. I've watched him in his small clinic treat knee injuries quite successfully using mustard. He takes one cup of yellow mustard powder and mixes it with an amount of some type of alcohol adequate to form a paste which he then applies to the knee by smearing it on with a rubber spatula or flat wooden stick. A new application is made when the old one has dried. Treatment is continued until the blisters start to appear. |
Mark Blumenthal
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 MC
7-day washout capsule/day cat's claw osteoarthritis n=45 men for NSAIDs; water extract;
(knee)
(30=cat's claw;
12 hours for material made l5=placebo); analgesics for study with symptomatic osteoarthritis
(OA) of knee, experiencing pain for most of prior month and requiring
NSAID therapy for 3 months prior to study, with knee pain on movement
(45-75 years)
Piscoya et al., 2001
Results/Conclusion
UG group had significant improvement in pain associated with activity and patient assessment scores determined after I week of trial (p<0.05). |
Leo Galland
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 Illness and Disease Are Not the Same
The slippery nature of medical diagnosis is quite clearly revealed in the relationship between chronic knee pain and a condition called osteoarthritis, which results from degeneration of cartilage lining the inside of the knee. Evidence of osteoarthritis is readily seen on X rays of the knees of people who have made it past middle age. When an elderly person complains of knee pain, a diagnostic charade is often enacted. The doctor orders X rays of the knees, which frequently show evidence of osteoarthritis. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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 In the first study, 13 patients suffering from osteoarthritis in their knees showed significant improvement in knee pain, swelling, buckling, and joint flexibility after receiving prolotherapy treatments. Additionally, eight of the patients with loose anterior cruciate ligaments found that they tightened following prolotherapy injection alone.6 The second study investigated the effectiveness of prolotherapy for treating osteoarthritis in finger and thumb joints. Upon completion of the study, prolotherapy was shown to produce significant improvement of pain and joint flexibility. |
The Editors of PREVENTION
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 In a study of people 60 and over who had knee pain from osteoarthritis, doctors found that there were a number of exercises that helped reduce the pain and made knee movement easier. For many people in the study, the benefits came from aerobic exercises such as walking. For others, resistance training designed to strengthen major muscle groups was also helpful.
"There's no question that people with any type of arthritis can help themselves with exercise," says Dr. Conn. "If you become sedentary, you'll rapidly lose muscle mass and mobility. The arthritis process may accelerate. |
| If you have knee pain, resist your natural inclination to stop, sit down, or get off your knee and do nothing. "The body's normal reaction to pain is to shut down and hold things still. You really have to work hard to overcome that tendency," says Marian Minor, PT., Ph.D., a physical therapist and associate professor of physical therapy at the University of Missouri School of Health in Columbia.
Exercise can often assuage pain. |
| Working out on the bike can soothe an arthritic knee or most other types of chronic knee pain. To ensure a successful ride, Dr. Fagan recommends raising the seat as high as you can while still being able to reach the
Stand with your back straight and your feet shoulder-width apart. Place your left hand on a tabletop or a chair for support. Pull your right foot straight up behind you, grabbing your ankle in your right hand. Keep your knee pointed toward the floor. As you pull your foot back and up, you should feel a stretch in your thigh muscles. |
| When to See a Doctor
Certain kinds of knee pain require medical attention. You should see your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms, says Dan Hamner, M.D., a physiatrist and sports medicine specialist in New York City. |
Stanley W. Jacob, M.D.
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 Recently, a Canadian businessman who had been taking MSM orally for shoulder, back, and knee pain, set out to replicate the sulfur springs effect in his own home—he installed a special hot tub and added MSM crystals.
"I have gotten considerable relief from the supplement but the old healing tradition of mineral springs led me to think that if I soaked in MSM maybe I could get better results," he says. "I played a lot of hockey in my younger days and my joints got banged around pretty good. As a result I've been suffering a lot with degenerative arthritis. |
Ben Davis
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| A woman with arthritic knee pain says her doctor recommended a rubber stocking, which had no effect at all. The pain was severe and she couldn't sleep at night. Walking with a cane was painfully difficult, almost impossible. Then she began taking vitamin C, vitamin E, bone meal and dolomite. In about two weeks the pain was entirely gone, to her great joy and amazement. Gradually the stiffness disappeared, and in a month she was walking freely.
One man said: "I suffered with enough pain of an arthritic nature in my right lower limb to last 10 lifetimes ... I needed a cane. |
| Apple cider vinegar has relieved crippling knee pain. Mrs. A.T. said: "My father had a bad knee from kneeling on cement welding for 20 years. A couple of years ago, it started getting so bad he would miss work and have to stay home with a heating pad on it. The knee would swell to twice its normal size. On one occasion, his knee completely gave out crossing a street and he collapsed on the ground. Doctors gave him pain killers but nothing helped. About a year ago, he began drinking one part apple cider vinegar to two parts water every day. |
Sharol Tilgner, N.D.
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 For the musculoskeletal system, it is indicated for lower back and knee pain, weakness in the knees, numbness in the legs, weakness in general and neuro-asthenia. It is useful in numerous conditions including anemia, weak seminal emission, white or yellowish vaginal discharges, swollen lymph nodes, boils and carbuncles, vertigo, insomnia, premature gray hair, chronic bronchitis, schizophrenia and diabetes.
It is one of the most widely used tonic herbs in traditional Chinese medicine.
Contraindications: Fo ti may cause gastric irritation and is contraindicated with diarrhea. |
Robert Sampson, M.D. & Patricia Hughes, B.S.N.
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 I reacted with transient knee pain but had no other symptoms. Patricia became fatigued, achy, depressed, and tearful, which we assumed was secondary to the neurotoxic effects of the lotion. Nine hours in the Bio-Tron Projector helped reverse the Kwell's effects. The next day Patricia washed her cats with the shampoo which two years before produced neuromuscular incoordination in me when I was three rooms away from her. I now remained symptom-free except for transient nausea. The shampoo bothered Patricia, but her symptoms cleared in a few hours. |
Stanley W. Jacob, M.D.
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| The knee pain had started a year before and increased over time. "At the end of the workday I would just come home, sit down in pain, and hardly be able to get up," he says. "That wasn't like me. I like to go fishing and camping but I could hardly even stand in the boat to fish anymore or barely climb forty feet without taking a rest. I stopped all my outdoor activities because of the pain. I couldn't walk from my front yard ro rhe back without some pain."
Sebring says he tried glucosamine sulfate for a month but had no relief. Then Ohmart told him about MSM. |
| To go along with his knee pain, Father Sam has a bad shoulder. He overdid it weight lifting about ten years ago.
"I tore tissue in the shoulder or damaged the rotator cuff some way and started to feel the hurt the day after," he says. "The pain lasted for some time and then gradually went away. But three or four years ago the pain returned as arthritis or bursitis connected to the injury. Now it was worse than before, and sometimes the pain would keep me up at night for hours. I would take Tylenol and the pain would go away. But some nights the Tylenol didn't help at all. |
Bill Gottlieb
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 EXERCISE: Walk a Tightrope—On the Floor
"This exercise helps align the ankle over the foot and the knee over the ankle, eliminating the type of structural misalignment that can cause knee pain," says Butler.
Find a place in your home that has a long, unobstructed area without any turns, such as a long hallway or a large room. Put two parallel lines of masking tape 6 inches apart on the floor.
In your bare feet, walk on the lines of tape. As you take each step, align the center of each heel and the second toe of each foot with the inner edge of the tape. |
| One particularly effective alternative medical treatment for knee pain is reconstructive or neural-fascial therapy, says William Faber, D.O., an osteopathic physician and director of the Milwaukee Pain Clinic. The therapy consists of a series of injections of anesthetic into the joint, which helps stabilize tissue and strengthens the joint, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons.
"With each treatment, pain becomes less and less and disappears in almost all cases," says Dr. Faber. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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| He fully recovered, but six months later complained of severe knee pain and stiffness. On examination, his knees seemed normal.The gallbladder scars were injected with neural therapy formula. He had immediate improvement of his pain and stiffness, and six weekly follow-up treatments of injections into the abdomen abolished any remnants of his pain and stiffness. That was eight years ago and he remains pain free today.
The task of the neural therapist is to locate the source of the abnormal activity and eliminate the disturbance. |
Bill Gottlieb
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| When one or more of these elements is tighter or more restricted than the others, knee pain is often the result."
Butler first evaluates the alignment and balance of the ankle joints. "If the ankle joints do not support the weight of the body evenly, by rolling either inward (pronation) or outward (supination), the bone of the lower leg becomes twisted, leading to strain in the soft tissues at the knee joint. This leaves the knee at particular risk for injury, especially in sports activities that put unusual strain on the knees, such as tennis, basketball, and jogging. |
the Editors of PREVENTION Magazine Health Books
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 In some instances, nasty knee pain can actually originate elsewhere in the body, such as the toe, foot, spine or hip. Fallen arches or weak ankles can cause your foot to overpronate (rotate too far inward), putting too much force on the knee. And if you have poor posture or an improper gait, it can focus pain directly to your knees.
The knee is also a favorite target for arthritis in its many forms. Osteoarthritis results from the breakdown of cartilage and other joint tissues after years of wear and tear. |
Bill Gottlieb
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| This gently corrects knee pain by educating you in a walking style that transfers weight more appropriately through the knee joint," she says.
WALKING: Watch Your Step
When you're out for a walk, look down every once in a while to see how your feet are "tracking," says Butler. Are your toes pointing outward (a common habit)? Consciously use the foot position that you use when you "walk the tightrope," she says.
REFLEXOLOGY: Treat the Knee Reflex Point
Your feet have many reflex points, each of which corresponds to a particular part of the body. |
Gale Maleskey
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 They also were less likely to develop knee pain. Vitamin E and beta-carotene also helped ailing joints stay healthier.
The benefits of vitamins C and E extend beyond their antioxidant properties. Together, they enhance the stability of components called proteoglycans that help to protect your cartilage, according to Jody Noe, N.D., a naturopathic doctor at the Brattleboro Naturopathic Clinic in Vermont. Vitamin C helps to form the structural protein known as collagen, the single most important protein in connective tissues. |
Leo Galland
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| When an elderly person complains of knee pain, a diagnostic charade is often enacted. The doctor orders X rays of the knees, which frequently show evidence of osteoarthritis. The diagnosis is made: "osteoarthritis," a disease that is conventionally treated with rest and anti-inflammatory drugs. When the condition is very severe, the preferred treatment is surgery to remove the diseased knees and attach artificial ones. |
| The most effective long-term treatment for knee pain is not rest and medication, but regular physical exercise.2
Discrepancies between what the doctor sees and what the patient feels occur in most diseases, because sickness is not caused by disease, but by disturbed function, and function involves a complex set of phenomena with physiological, psychological, and cultural dimensions. Most people who are chronically ill have more than one species of disease. This condition, called co-morbidity, is the rule, not the exception, in clinical medicine. |
Bill Gottlieb
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| Virginia Mason Sports Medicine Center and clinical associate professor of orthopedics at the University of Washington, both in Seattle, you should see an orthopedist or medical doctor for diagnosis and treatment if you have stiffness and pain in one or both knees, especially if it lasts for more than 6 weeks; knee pain, swelling, or tenderness, especially swelling that occurs within 24 hours of an injury; or any other pain than interferes with mobility or daily activities. |
Michael Castleman
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 And my stepson has used it to control the knee pain he developed playing basketball." Dr. Pullig Schatz also used yoga as the basis for her book, Back Care Basics.
Doctors Take a Stand
Dr. Pullig Schatz is not the only physician to discover the healing power of yoga. About 15 years ago, William E. Connor, M.D., professor of medicine and clinical nutrition at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, developed chronic hip pain. "My daughter practiced yoga and encouraged me to try it," recalls Dr. Connor. "I was very skeptical, but she insisted, so I figured I'd humor her for a while. |
Stanley W. Jacob, M.D., Ronald M. Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D.
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| Recently, a Canadian businessman who had been taking MSM orally for shoulder, back, and knee pain, set out to replicate the sulfur springs effect in his own home—he installed a special hot tub and added MSM crystals.
"I have gotten considerable relief from the supplement but the old healing tradition of mineral springs led me to think that if I soaked in MSM maybe I could get better results," he says. "I played a lot of hockey in my younger days and my joints got banged around pretty good. As a result I've been suffering a lot with degenerative arthritis. |
Gary Null
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 In addition to collisions, the most common injuries are outer calf pain, knee pain, and chronic soreness of the hands.
ROPE JUMPING Rope jumping, or jumping without a rope, gives you cardiovascular conditioning with a bonus: you can burn more calories per minute jumping rope than running, swimming, or bike riding. Jumping rope, however, can have a disastrous effect on the legs and lower back. Never start jumping for a long period of time. In the beginning, even a few minutes can be too long. |
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