{"id":13850,"date":"2014-05-23T11:05:13","date_gmt":"2014-05-23T17:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.miridiatech.com\/news\/?p=13850"},"modified":"2021-03-08T14:23:43","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T21:23:43","slug":"i-love-elderly-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.miridiatech.com\/news\/2014\/05\/i-love-elderly-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"Knee Pain & the Older Patient"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"granddaughter\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I don’t know why, but I’ve always had a special bond with older people. When I was a little girl, my family used to call me a “little old lady” because I wore glasses and could often be found sitting next to my grandma with a crochet hook or knitting “needles” in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My fondness toward the elderly has continued to grow over the years. I love to learn from older people and for some reason they really like me. Because of this, I treat a lot of elderly patients in my clinic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have one elderly gentlemen who refers patients to me on a regular basis. He swears that I’ve cured him of the osteoarthritis in his knees.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every time one of his friends complains of an ache or pain, he tells them they HAVE to go see Kimberly\u2013and hands them one of my cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t consider myself a miracle worker by any means, but I do have a few tricks I’ve learned over the years to help me to have success with osteoarthritis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, let’s talk about osteoarthritis from a TCM perspective.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In TCM terms, osteoarthritis is known as “Painful Obstruction Syndrome” or “Bi Syndrome.” The symptoms are described as pain, soreness or numbness of the muscles, tendons, and joints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The symptoms of Painful Obstruction Syndrome are typically more related to the channel<\/span> than the actual organ system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Causes:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There are two MAIN underlying causes leading to pain and soreness in the channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qi and Blood Stagnation:<\/strong><\/em> Small venules appear on the skin reflecting the state of the blood in the channels\u2013bluish or greenish venules indicating cold or red indicating heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qi and Blood Deficiency:<\/strong><\/em> When Qi and Blood are not circulating well, the channel becomes weak and TCM pathogens such as Wind, Cold and Damp easily invade and cause pain. The reason it attacks so often in the elderly is because of the natural underlying deficiency of Qi and Blood that progresses with age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qi and Blood Stagnation and\/or Qi and Blood Deficiency is the underlying problem regarding a weakness in the channel. Once the channel is weak, pathogenic factors such as Wind, Damp, and Cold penetrate at the superficial level causing pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most practitioners think of wind in relation to an external attack from outdoor elements or even air conditioning, but Wind is also related to the sudden change of weather and the consequent inability for the body to adapt to it. In the case of the elderly, the body is more prone to invasion of wind during unseasonably cold or even warm weather because of underlying deficiencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Knee<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

By the time the patient presents in your office they have had years of life’s experiences, which often compound the problem of deficiency:<\/p>\n\n\n\n