Treating knee joint degeneration requires a combination of treatments

As people age, knee joint degeneration occurs unexpectedly. Once pain occurs, MRI examinations will reveal that the knee joint has a series of injuries such as meniscus, cruciate ligaments, and articular cartilage. The word "degeneration" seems shocking and makes people feel overwhelmed.

In fact, we don't need to worry about the phenomena seen in these imaging examinations. Degradation is a natural phenomenon, just like furniture that has been used for a long time will inevitably have paint peeling, loose mortise and tenon joints, and even wood decay. If you repair it, it can still be used. It is not necessary to replace it with a new one. The key is that sometimes a new one may not be as useful as the original one.

The same is true for our knee joints. Degeneration is a natural aging process. With proper maintenance, most of them can continue to "serve". Therefore, once the knee joint degenerates, don't panic, just treat and repair it seriously. Don't leave it alone. If you wait until it is worn out and replace it with a new one, it will be uneconomical.

As written on the MRI report, knee joint degeneration is multifaceted. There is not only degeneration, exfoliation, and loosening of articular cartilage, but also bone edema of cancellous bone deep in the articular cartilage, meniscus rupture, ligament injury, inflammatory reaction, bone hyperplasia, and even the appearance of broken bone residues (scientific name: articular mice or loose bodies) in the joint. At the same time, there are also problems with the muscles involved in knee joint movement. Therefore, knee joint degeneration is a systemic change.

The treatment of systemic degenerative changes in the knee joint requires systematic diagnosis and treatment thinking and treatment arrangements. It is necessary to repair the degenerated cartilage in the knee joint, that is, inject sodium hyaluronate or PRP treatment; the ligament structure around the knee joint should also be adjusted by small needle knife, massage, acupuncture and other balancing treatments; the muscles involved in the movement of the knee joint should also be trained to generate the power of balanced movement. If there are broken bones and slag in the knee joint, it should be cleaned with an arthroscopy.

Of course, holistic whole-body treatment is needed to nourish the liver and kidneys, strengthen the tendons and bones, improve overall bone quality, and enhance muscle strength, so as to achieve ideal clinical results under the guidance of TCM's holistic concept and the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment.

(Li Wuqiang, Director and Chief TCM Physician of Sanmenxia Wuqiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital)