Knee and other joint pain is a common complaint for many people. The symptom itself can come from a variety of reasons, including inflammation, injury, arthritis, bone spurs, tendinitis, among others. Knowing the appropriate western diagnosis can help to increase the efficacy of alternative therapies like acupuncture. From a Chinese medicine perspective we can determine the appropriate pattern disharmony and affected meridians based on the nature and location of particular pain. Western medical diagnosis can give insight as to internal patterns of disharmony, adding another layer of specificity. After the jump are some ways that acupuncture and herbal medicine can be of help when rehabilitating from joint pain, and also some things you can try at home.
Joints in and of themselves simply refer to the space where two bones come together, suspended by tendons and ligaments and with some sort of membranous fluid. Their strength lies in the muscles surrounding them, and therefore when joints hurt there is often a lot more areas of the body involved. Releasing tight muscles and strengthening weak ones can have an enormous impact on relieving joint pain and preventing future problems. This concept may not seem intuitive - that movement will actually reduce pain- but when the pain is a result of weak muscles that are unable to appropriately hold the joint bones in place, strengthening them is vitally important. The best advice is to start slow. Moderate or light – but consistent – exercise will give lasting effects without further trauma.
**(note that it is important to check with your doctor first, to be sure the cause is weak muscles and not degenerative joint disease).
Bone spurs are bony projections that can grow off of bones and cause pain by rubbing against nerve endings in the area. They often form as the result of osteoarthritis, but can also occur purely from aging. They most commonly form on the heel or knee, but can affect any joint in the body. If appropriately placed near a joint and/or a nerve, they can cause a significant amount of discomfort. NSAID’s (like ibuprofen) or surgery are about the only options Western medicine can offer for these tiny protrusions.
Acupuncture can help alleviate some of the inflammation, but herbal plasters combined with acupuncture treatments have the most effect on actually reducing the size of the bone spur. The 701 plaster is most well-known for doing this. In fact, a teacher of mine once used them on a race-horse who was diagnosed with bone spurs in its leg, and it took care of it completely. The plasters are safe, effective, and relatively inexpensive. Most Chinatown pharmacies or acupuncture clinics will have them available. In addition to applying herbal plasters, you can try any of the following suggestions to alleviate many types of inflammatory joint pain.
1) Exercise
Regular and moderate exercise is the best way to strengthen the muscles surrounding joints. This can greatly help reduce pain and prevent future problems. In addition to the direct effect on the musculo-skeletal system, exercise also has numerous system benefits like improving circulation, reducing weight, promoting heart health and increasing calcium absorption. Although joint pain caused by certain types of arthritis and bone spurs can sometimes make it difficult to move around, it is still important to try and commit to performing moderate exercise with low impact. In the long run, this will help to break out of the vicious cycle of pain and immobility.
2) Diet
Specifically when trying to reduce an inflammatory response, diet can play a huge role. Inflammatory foods include spicy, greasy, refined flours/sugars and dairy. Reducing these and eating high-antioxidant and phyto-nutrient rich foods like colorful fruits and vegetables can help the body to clear toxins and soothe inflamed areas. Depending on the chronicity of the problem, going on a special diet as instructed by your healthcare providor to cleanse inflammation from the body may be a wise idea as well.
3) Acupuncture
Acupuncture is great for joint pain, muscle pain and inflammation. It works by improving circulation, removing obstruction and balancing the body’s energy. Not only does it work at the affected area, but also can improve systemic functioning and clear any toxic load that may be the result or cause of joint inflammation. Sometimes acupuncture can provide the relief necessary to allow for routine exercise to begin again, and then together can help recovery happen quicker and prevent future recurrence.
2 Comments
Great article Erin, you always produce valuable work. As a nutritionist and soon-to-be chiropractor, I wanted to add my two cents on a subject very near and dear to my work
1. As for strengthening weak muscles and stretching tight muscles, retraining the functional movement is almost more important. The body is smart, it is very economic and will take away muscle mass from areas not being used. It will also recruit muscles to fulfill a movement or a load that they are not designed to handle. Retraining the movement through the entire range of motion is important to prevent injury when muscles that do not fire at the right time are given a load that exceeds their capacity.
Think of a bench press, most people fail at the beginning of the lift or at the lockout (at the end ranges of the motion!)…when you take a fall, it’s when the areas of the tendon that aren’t used to being stressed now take a sudden load, and then they fail and injury occurs. Drop the weight, do full range of motion exercises and you’ll have a higher ceiling to your max weight and prevent undue stresses to your cartilage and bone.
2. Additionally, the research shows that the degree of degeneration is NOT correlated with the degree of pain. The pain is a result of the inflammatory processes which varies person to person. If you have little to no intake of Omega 3 fats, you are a smoker, or are eating a diet high in pasta/grains and red meat, you are more likely to promote inflammation. You can have an amazing diet and be limited because you still smoke. You can not smoke, but be in a horrible relationship at home and still promote inflammation. Movement whether it’s through yoga or tai chi, or simple walking around the block, movement releases endorphins, it circulates blood and keeps joints from degenerating.
Thank you for the valuable comments! I forgot to write about the importance of Omega 3′s in reducing inflammation, very true. Less can be more when retraining functional movement, great tips on that. Good clarification that pain signifies inflammation (not necessarily degeneration). Pain also signifies “stagnation” to an acupuncturist, which needs to be coursed and cleansed through treatment/diet/movement/lifestyle. More to come on the concept of Qi Stagnation in a coming post on rehabilitation post traumatic injury. We speak similar language, just use different vocabulary! It’s great!
Thanks again for the added insight and for reading.