Doctor Yu’s Clinical Notes VII: Knee and Knee Injuries | 于博士行医手记：膝关节和膝损伤

Recently there are several days of continuous rain in Vancouver, and the temperature is quite low. On the mountains, where it is freezing, there is finally enough high quality and thick snow. This is exciting news for winter sports enthusiasts, because now they can start skiing. However, coming with the skiing season are the related injuries, and knee injury is the most common.

Vancouver is a paradise for sports. In Vancouver you can find vast and well preserved forests, numerous rivers with clean water, and well maintained sports facilities all over the city. There are many sports lovers of running, walking, yoga, hiking, sailing, skiing, snow-boarding, and many other extreme sports. Therefore, there are also many famous sport brands based in the city, such as Lululemon, Arc’teryx etc. People of Vancouver love sports, but at the same time many suffer from sport related injuries.

Therefore I would like to emphasize one thing. That is, no matter how light the injury is, as long as it is of the knee, please go see a doctor and ask for complete cure immediately. The knee is the most important major joint in the body that is vital to movement through our lives, so please treat it with great caution.

Among these injuries, knee injury is the most common. Other major problems including injury of the inner thigh ligament, of the semilunar fibrocartilage, and of the infrapatellar fat pad. Some of these injuries may be cured after proper rest, but some will not, and the symptom will fluctuate. The longer the problem is left without treatment, the worse it gets. Without treatment, more and more conditions will also start affecting the injury, such as coldness, wetness or change of weather. All these symptoms will become a cause of serious joint related disease in years.

A North Vancouver lady, referred by her friend, came to visit us recently. She was suffering from serious osteoarthritis that she could not sit, stand, or walk smoothly. Her condition was so bad that when she got on the clinic bed, she could hardly move her legs, or stretch out her legs flat. When she laid down, there was always a distance of one and a half pillow between the back of her knee and the bed. She also told me that the situation would be worsened in the night and that she could not sleep because of the pain. Both of her knees were swollen above and on the side of the joints. Also the side of her calf was very thin, and the knees were both dis-aligned to the outside presenting some how a “bow leg” situation. After checking her thoroughly, I concluded that her treatment will need at least 20 to 30 sessions. She trusted me and my acupuncture so she agreed to take the treatment, and she was very cooperative during the sessions. To our surprise, after 10 sessions, she recovered very well that she could stretch out her knees flat. Now she even started gym exercise and going to vacation again.

According to my years of experience as a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, until now, I believe that acupuncture has the best effects in curing knee problems. Even the problem is a knee deformation caused by bony spur, acupuncture still has good results.

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最近几天连续阴雨，再加上低温天气，温哥华山上终于有了大量的高质积雪。对于冬季运动爱好者来说，这个消息非常激动人心，因为这意味着滑雪的季节正式开始了。但是，随之而来的就是一些滑雪的运动损伤，其中膝关节的损伤还是最常见的。最近几个月我已经收治了数名严重膝关节损伤的病人，有些病人的发病因素之一就是年轻时膝损伤，又没能及时做治疗。

在温哥华做运动可谓是得天独厚，有大片的森林、无数的河流、广袤的雪山、完善的体育设施。跑步、远足、瑜伽、登山、帆船、滑雪，以及各种极限运动，都有很多的爱好者。因此，温哥华也有众多的顶尖运动品牌的，如LuLulemon、Arc’teryx等等。温哥华人非常重视运动健身，但同时带来的就是大量的运动损伤。

因此，我在这里想同大家分享一个理念就是，无论任何的膝关节损伤，不管损伤程度，一定要及时就医，彻底地治疗。因为膝关节是身体最为重要的大关节之一，是要伴随我们一生的，马虎不得。

在这些运动损伤中，膝关节的损伤是主要的问题之一。以大腿内侧韧带损伤和半月板损伤、髌下脂肪垫等最为常见。这些病症有的可以经过休息得以好转，而有的可能不能完全恢复，表现为时好时坏。时间拖得越久就会有越多的因素影响恢复，如受凉受湿天气变化等均可使病情加重。这些症状在多年后可以成为骨关节的主要病因之一。

有一位来自北温的女病人，患有严重的骨性关节炎。三个月前，她经朋友推荐前来就诊。当时情况是这样的：病人从坐位站立起来困难，走路左右晃动蹒跚；上到检查床上，移动双腿困难；躺平后双腿不能平伸，以至膝关节与床面之间的距离有一个半枕头那么高；夜间情况加重影响睡眠。另外，她双膝关节上部和侧面明显肿胀，而双小腿侧面明显可见细弱，双膝关节呈O型。我仔细检查后，告诉她我们的方案，大约需要至少20或30次治疗。开始治疗后，由于充分信任我和针灸的有效性，她很配合治疗。因此在10次以后她就可以放平不能伸直的膝关节了。现在已经开始健身房的锻炼和恢复度假了。

根据我行医生涯中的经验，到目前为止，我认为中医针灸对膝关节的治疗效果是最好的。即使有因为骨刺而导致双膝畸形，针灸依然有很好的疗效。