Knee Pain
A common problem seen in clinic, but just as often neglected by many people. 2 weeks ago I treated an elderly male patient in his late 70s with this problem. This patient takes very good care of himself. He looks like he's only in his 60s. Save for some common geriatric problems such as slight hard of hearing, the patient looks all around very healthy.
The only problem he has is his chronic knee pain. He believes it's not big of a problem but his wife insists he has treatment. The pain is most prominent when he walks up stairs. I told him this is a very simple problem. I simply performed Acupuncture. During the insertion of the needle he remarked he could feel a sensation go down his legs. I replied this is a good sign. It means the nerves and blood is flowing as a result. After the session I told him some tips regarding maintenance of the knees, especially for him as he walks so much regularly.
2 weeks pass and he recently came back for reassessment. The knee pain is almost essentially gone. He has been able to walk upwards with no problem. He's been heeding and following my maintenance advice as well. No further treatment is necessary if he takes good future care of his knees.
Knee pain is often not a big a problem. A lot of people misconstrue this as osteoarthritis or some sort of arthritic disease. For certain people they even take pain killers for it. This really isn't necessary. Knee pain, especially for the elderly, is often a result of poor maintenance, leading to accrued damage over the years.
Systemic conditions sometimes may exacerbate the problem. For individuals who keep up an active lifestyle into their senior years, proper maintenance is key to ensuring your knee can be used without harm for years to come. The best way is to warm up before you go about your daily activity and after the activity is finished.
The method to do this is to use hot towels on the area for a while before you engage in your day. And make sure you do this during the night too before you rest. The improves the circulation in the area and curbs inflammation to prevent unnecessary wear to the joints. If this still doesn't help however, then treatment such as Acupuncture and/or Chinese Medicine may be necessary.