January 25, 2010

Over the weekend, I got an email from a subscriber who complained of a very common problem. So, I thought I’d pass it along, as you may well have, or have had, this same problem yourself.
 
He wrote that he had developed a pop or snapping sensation inside his knee, which had cause him to start having pain, when bending or straightening the joint. He didn’t recall any specific injury to the knee.
 
That’s not at all uncommon, you know. Many is the time that patients came to see me in the office with an obvious injury, yet they couldn’t remember any such trauma in the recent past. In these cases, what I surmised is that they had a minor injury, perhaps a bump into the corner of a piece of furniture, not bad enough to remember, so it didn’t register. 
 
But over a few days, the incident now forgotten, the body set up a “delayed” inflammation, mediated by a cellular response. From the standpoint of the patient, this pain seemed to come out of the blue. But there really WAS an injury–just not one they could recall.
 
I’ve had this happen, myself. It was only when I really made the effort to remember and retrace my steps that I finally recalled the minor bump, several days before, that was the cause of the pain. That’s more likely to happen, now that I’m back on my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA  http://www.favoriteformulas.com
 
The pharmaceutical grade fish oil has real anti-coagulant properties, among others, like preventing heart attacks and strokes, anti-inflammatory properties, and many others. While that’s usually a good thing, preventing abnormal clots and deep vein thrombosis, the price you pay is a greater tendency to bruise, which is simply bleeding under the skin.
 
Blood in the tissues is a common cause for delayed inflammation and resultant pain. In this case, this person likely had a bruise, which he no longer recalls, which then set up the inflammation, which then resulted in inflammation of the synovial membrane, that lines the knee. 
 
The synovium normally has a few small folds from birth. When these folds are swollen from inflammation, they enlarge into plicae(meaning “folds” in Latin). These plicae can then snap, or pop, as they are rubbed against the bony contours of the end of the femur, within the knee. In effect, they are plucked, like the strings of a guitar, when bending or extending the knee.
 
If the inflammation is chronic, lasting for an extended period of time, the synovial membrane may be replaced by thick, fibrous tissue, thereby becoming a stiff cord of scar. Once that happens, that plica is there for good. It can only be removed by surgery. 
 
Prior to that, however, the irritated and swollen fold in the membrane can be shrunk, by using one, or several, of the many            non-surgical treatments in my newest healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY http://www.drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
In the short term, ice applications, for the first 24-48 hours helps, because the cold constricts the blood vessels, thereby limiting the amount of bleeding and swelling in the injured tissues. After that, intermittent heat is more beneficial. 
 
How do you know when to switch?
 
See how it feels. If heat makes the knee hurt more, then it still needs ice. If, on the other hand it feels good, then heat is what’s needed. Like we used to say in the 60′s and 70′s: “If it feels good, do it.”
 
And, though this may seem like just common sense, you should NOT continue to snap the knee. Continually “plucking the string” will only prolong the ongoing inflammation, maintaining the swelling of the tissues and preventing resolution. To keep the knee still, you may need to place it in a knee immobilizer, which will hold it straight, while still allowing weight bearing.
 
If you follow these few tips and use the methods I outline in HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY, http://www.drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html  and you will get fast relief, shrink the plica and get rid of that irksome, snapping knee pain. Til next time, my friend, be well. Talk to you again, soon.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
“The Wellness warrior”       TM
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved