The Multiple Methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Treating the Symptoms of Knee Osteoarthritis

What's New

2017-08-30

What is knee osteoarthritis?
　　Osteoarthritis is a disease making many people uncomfortable in working or retired life. The occurrence of knee osteoarthritis increases over 50 years old.
　　The symptoms of knee osteoarthritis are joint pain, joint deformity and functional problems, like walking, weakness and squatting and these symptoms makes many patients difficult to travel or exercise. According to evidence-baesd medicine, The best index for evaluating the prognosis of old life is the walking ability.

Prevention, Treatment and Health care: Manual techniques and Acupuncture to improve the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis

　　A 58 years old female felt right knee acute pain due to stand a long time for working. The clinical presentation showed that the initial diagnosis is acute stage of knee osteoarthritis. The patient was afraid of acupuncture and we used manual techniques and herbal patches of traditional Chinese medicine to relieve her pain. After 4 times treatments, her symptoms were improved gradually.

The strategy for knee osteoarthritis needs including prevention, treatment and health care.

Prevention: avoiding the injury of works.
The job which needs a long time to squatting or standing will make micro trauma and hurt the cartilage or synovium. We can adjust the abnormal posture by acupuncture, manual techniques and health education.
Treatment: avoiding the excessive inflammation.
The inflamed knee joint needs decreasing the inflammation quickly and acupuncture, herbal patches and Chinese medicine have the effects to improve the problem. The early intervention of traditional Chinese medicine is another choice apart from modern medicine.
Health care: home exercise
The home exercise, like Tai-Chi, Ba-Duan-Jin or quadriceps setting, is important for maintain the muscle power of lower extremities. The adequate muscle power can help the stability of our knee joint and decrease the possibility of re-inflammation.

Dr. Pu-Wei Hou, Division of Traumatology,

Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, CMUH.

Back