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Acupuncture for Knee Pain

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Knee painCan Acupuncture Help with Knee Pain?

Due to their complexity, size, and anatomical position as a major weight bearer of the body, knees are the most often treated joints by acupuncturists. Injuries to the knees can be caused by trauma, such as a ligament injury or fractured knee cap. But as we age, knees are many times the first to weaken, resulting in torn ligaments or deteriorated cartilage, making older adults more susceptible to injury, many times resulting in requiring full knee replacements. Acupuncture is highly effective in the treatment of many types of pain, including the pain associated with such knee injuries and trauma. Both the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health have officially acknowledged the benefits of acupuncture in treating and eliminating pain.

There are specific acupuncture points on meridians that relate to knee injuries, sinews, muscle, bone, and blood. Deficiencies in any of these areas can be tonified by using these points. Depending on the severity of the injury, acute cases can usually achieve pain relief within a few treatments; chronic cases will take more treatments depending on the age of the injury.

Acupuncture can also help with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, even after bone deformities have occurred. Acupuncture can be beneficial in the rehabilitation of chronic knee pain that was not properly treated during the acute phase of the injury. Acupuncture can also be used as a preventative measure against daily wear and tear of knee cartilage and surrounding tissues, in individuals that engage in activities involving repetitive motions. Together acupuncture and herbal medicine can strengthen bone, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage to help prevent future knee injuries.

Can Herbs Help with Knee Pain Too?

In addition to acupuncture, herbal medicine can be effective in reducing knee pain as well. While Western medicine excels in the treatment of severe acute pain, herbal medicine is more beneficial in less severe pain and in chronic cases. Drugs typically treat the symptom of pain, but don’t treat the root cause of the pain. Herbal medicine can be used to help manage pain, once the acute severe pain has passed, to help patients discontinue use of drugs that with long-term use can lead to side effects or even addiction. Herbal medicine is also very specific to strengthening and regeneration of the sinews, bones, blood, flesh, and muscle to facilitate healing of knee injuries. Herbs can be used to relieve pain, relax the muscles, regenerate tissue, strengthen the deficient meridians, and to reduce heat, inflammation and swelling.

How Can Acupuncture Be Used Before and After Knee Surgery?

Acupuncture is an ideal treatment for knee ailments, especially after major knee surgery. Knee surgery can include many types of injuries including meniscus injury, ligament injury, or total knee replacement. A fit knee joint relies on healthy sinews, which in Oriental Medicine refers to the cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. Since there is no blood supply to these sinews, nourishment and oxygen must come from surrounding joint fluids. If any of the six meridians surrounding the knee become blocked, then stagnation occurs, causing pain and possibly further damage to the knee. Acupuncture frees the stagnation and moves these vital nutrients to the knee area to facilitate healing.

Patients facing knee surgery can greatly benefit from the synthesis of Western Medicine and Oriental Medicine. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1998, showed that physicians referred their patients to acupuncturists more than any other alternative health care provider and that 51% of medical doctors believe acupuncture to be effective and of value. Not only can acupuncture ease the pain while awaiting knee surgery, it can also be an alternative to surgery, especially for patients that are unwilling or unable to have surgery. For knee surgery, acupuncture can be used both pre-operatively and post-operatively. Patients receiving acupuncture after knee trauma report a decrease in pain, reduction in stiffness, and better mobility and increased knee function. Acupuncture can be a valuable complement to standard Western care.

So ask your orthopedist about acupuncture and how it can be used as complementary medicine before and after knee surgery. Not only is acupuncture beneficial post-operatively for knee surgery, but it is also frequently used in treating ailing knees in general. Acupuncture for the treatment of knees has become widespread among athletes as well as the general public.

Studies on Acupuncture for Knee Pain

The World Health Organization endorses that acupuncture can be used to treat a wide range of conditions and has been proven by several case studies to relieve pain quite effectively after knee surgery. Other smaller studies confirm that acupuncture is effective in reducing knee pain, stiffness, and physical disability in patients with knee problems. One study involving 18 patients receiving 20 acupuncture treatments, showed that after arthroscopic knee surgery the patients showed significant improvement by the end of the study in areas of pain relief.

A 2005 German study, consisting of 20 patients, assessed the amount of pain relieving drugs required after knee arthroscopy. Even though the pain intensity was similar among the control and acupuncture groups, the patients that were given auricular (ear) acupuncture consumed less Ibuprofen than the control group. The patients receiving acupuncture also tended to spend less time in recovery and were able to walk at a significantly faster rate. This study concluded that auricular acupuncture might be useful in reducing the post-operative pain relieving drugs requirement after ambulatory knee arthroscopy.

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