Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Losing Weight Helps Knee Arthritis Pain

Knee arthritis has no cure, but one treatment consistently decreases pain---Weight Loss.  It is not simple but it is effective.

What stops patients with knee arthritis from losing weight?
1.  No clear, simple program that produces weight loss and improves function.
2.  Lack of will power
3.  No consistency

Here are a few simple tips:
1.  Eat one less bite of everything. (The one-less diet)
2.  Drink less soda and alcohol
3.  Exercise

But you say, I can't exercise because my knees hurt.  I cannot count the number of times I have heard that one.  Instead of complaining.......
1.  Try stretching to start
2.  Try water aerobics
3.  Try an exercise bike (30 minutes 3x/week)











Hamstring Stretch


Set a goal of losing 3 pounds to start.  You knees may feel like you lost up to 15 pounds because of the joint forces that occur especially when you go up and down stairs.

Always check with your own doctor prior to initiating any program.

Send me any tips on weight loss and arthritis:  @bloodcure on twitter.

AM
TotalTendon


Published articles supporting weight loss for arthritis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23484617
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22401872

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

Acupuncture with Gold for Knee Osteoarthritis

I have treated thousands of patients with knee arthritis and never heard of gold acupuncture as an option.  In the most recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a case report discusses the topic.

Gold Acupuncture Knee X-ray
From the NEJM, 2013, See Link Below

Apparently, this form of treatment is common in some Asian countries.  As you can see from the x-ray above, it looks like a a bunch of pine needles or staples have invaded the knee.  I do not know of any data supporting this type of approach but it does make for a very interesting x-ray.

Here is a link to the New England Journal of Medicine Case Report:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMicm1202540
Yoo and Yoo NEJM 2013

Please post any comments or links to data about this topic below.


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