littlelulu1937

and I'm actually past 60!

On or about this past March 1 I went to bed feeling fine & woke up in the morning with severe pain behind my knee & later,as I tried to get up, throbbng pain on the side of my knee. Within a few hours I could only hobble around (and not very well) with a cane. I should say that previously, a fast two or three mile walk was nothing (gave up driving over 30 years ago)

I tried bedrest only for several days, but throbbing of 24 hours a day, relieved only by sleep, which was hard to come by, drove me to see an acupuncturist for two extended sessions of an hour & a half each. Felt fine in both instances when I got off the table, but by the time I got out on the sidewalk to be picked up,all the pain came back. I waited another 10 days to see if this treatment would work at all, but I was somewhat dollar poorer & back to square one.

I then tried arnica, which is a homeopathic remedy, both in the gel & tablet form & recommended at the health food store for soft tissue injury, but again no result, though again I waited for another 10 days.

At that point I was able to get an appointment with a highly recommended orthopedist, where x-rays of my bones were taken which were fine & also range of motion tests,the results of which he was pleased with. He thought it probably a soft tissue injury from a strain or sprain (there was no "fall") & put me on a regimen of ibuprofen three tablets at each meal for the next three or four weeks & another appointment. I stopped taking the pills after the third week & cancelled the appointment. By this time about 80% of the pain & what little swelling I had was gone. However, I still didn't feel close to "back to normal" at that point, but felt "time heals all wounds".

I should say that in the last few years, my legs felt "tired" with almost a low level soreness even while lying down & getting out of a chair after sitting awhile was getting difficult. Also my right knee would sometimes buckle, like a trick knee, when I walked several months prior to my knee situation.
I now suspect that my knee "tricked" a few times too often & finally revolted Just going down stairs was difficult also.

At an rate, I accidently happened to come across a workbook on trigger point massage therapy for laypeople to do for themselves. Following the directions in the book I was able to locate & massage my knee's likely trigger points (& a few others in my shoulder) & viola, my whole leg hasn't felt so good in years. No more knee buckling (which the author says is a clear sign of an active trigger point in play) & no trouble getting out of chairs or down steps any more.

I realize that this is an arthritis board & I don't have arthritis, but I notice quite a few people here seem to have knee & other pain so I thought I would mention my story. Even if you actually have arthritis, the author of my book maintains that a lot of that pain is actually due to active trigger points & can be greatly relieved with a rolling pressure massage for short periods daily at the correct places.

The cost is very small & it's worth a try.