Knee pain is a common complaint among all mountain sports enthusiasts, such as the mountain runners and skiers who visit Chamonix.

The knee is one of the human body’s major weight-bearing joints, and also one of the most frequently injured. Knee pain can have a number of different causes and is often painful and debilitating, Some conditions might even require surgery. The signs and symptoms of knee pain can range from stiffness and pain to locking, swelling, limping and instability.

Our aim is to assess the knee structure holistically from the standpoint of Traditional Japanese Medicine (TJM), so that the real cause of your knee pain can be determined. The issue will then be treated with a course of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture (TJA) and Rolfing® manipulation designed for your specific condition.

How Knee Pain is treated with Traditional Japanese Medicine

Since the knee has a complex structure and is one of the body’s major weight-bearing joints, pain, lack of mobility, or discomfort there can induce compensation everywhere in the body, through its mechanical and functional links. Understanding the relation between a client’s local anatomy & physiology with the functional compensation pattern that has developed is the key to figuring out the root cause of their issue.

According to TJM, analyzing the Meridian chain through which the body’s energy flows can reveal the last piece of puzzle and suggest the best treatments for the client’s specific set of issues. Balancing their Yin/Yang & Five Element disharmonies through work on the meridians can produce an effect similar to Western Medicine’s regulation of the neuroendocrine-immune network. ^[1]

Our treatment protocols for Knee pain integrate TJA and Rolfing to speed up the client’s recovery, repair the integrity of their knee structure, and reorganize and correct the mechanical – functional – energetic aspect of their issue.

The case of Mr U

A 41-year-old man visited me for treatment complaining of pain behind his knee cap that had lasted more than 6 months. He said that instability in the joint had started after a knee operation he underwent 2 years ago due to a skiing accident.

His symptoms included knee pain, instability, lower back stiffness and tightness around the medial side of his right thigh.

By palpating various energy nodes, I got a sense of congestion at a specific point around his knee cap. In my experience, congestion at that point often indicates the dysfunction of stomach and spleen meridians from the TJM point of view. This is similar phenomenon as menisci inflammation.

In the case of this type of knee pain and instability, a direct approach to the inner part of the knee is essential. Acupuncture is very useful for this treatment, since it can transmit direct stimulation to inside tissues that are hard to reach by hand. It can also stimulate nerves located in muscles and other tissues, lead to a release of endorphins and other neurohormonal factors and changes in the way the brain processes pain.

Using a combination of TJA and Rolfing, I devoted his initial sessions to improving blood flow inside the knee cap by direct stimulation with needles, balancing the asymmetry I found in his functional compensatory patterns and regulating the flow of energy along the meridian chain. These approaches totally can repair the mechanical – functional – energetic balance in a holistic way. Mr U reported that his pain was reduced by about 70% in the first session and that after the subsequent sessions, his instability and other issues that bothered him were in largely in remission.

Conclusion

Understanding the mechanisms of the most common knee injuries associated with skiing or mountain running allows a holistic perspective in the treatment course provided.

At our clinic, we will determine the fundamental causes of your issues and, most importantly, help you correct the energy and mechanical imbalances of your knee and other associated regions so that you can move again with confidence and comfort.

– References –

1. Ning-cen Li, Ming-yue Li, Bo Chen and Yi Guo; 2019 “A New Perspective of Acupuncture: The Interaction among Three Networks Leads to Neutralization” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

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