My knee won't bend....

[therosery]

I've been using Curcumin for joint pain, but I'm out. About all I have in the first aid cabinet for this sort of problem right now is aspirin, alcohol, some of that "heat" cream, and miscellaneous vitamins and supplements. I'll try the heat cream and putting my foot up, and see if that helps. Thanks, everybody!

eta: I'll try some of Summerthyme's easy-exercises, too, and see if that helps.

Also, Grower, roll up a pillow to put under your knee, to keep it somewhat bent. A heating pad, may help, altho it should be followed with cold as heat can make the swelling worse. Stay off it for a while, if you can. Good luck.

[packyderms_wife]

Try some WD-40, I know what it's for, but I promise it works. When ever my joints don't work right, out comes the WD-40, I spray some on my hands and rub it in. IT WORKS , so u smell like a oil can, it WORKS trust me.

you did know that you can do the same exact thing with olive oil and not end up smelling like a truck engine right? Heat up the olive oil a little bit as the warm oil will penetrate the skin better.

[packyderms_wife]

Also, Grower, roll up a pillow to put under your knee, to keep it somewhat bent. A heating pad, may help, altho it should be followed with cold as heat can make the swelling worse. Stay off it for a while, if you can. Good luck.

agreed and you can do those foot exercises while sitting down with your knee up. Arinca gel applied directly to the knee will help with any swelling.

K-

[Little RedRidingHood]

Since you have some herbs and vitamins on hand I will give you my list that I use whenever my back and/or knees start acting up.
Any combo will help so don't worry if you do NOT have all of them or even just a few.

Shark Cartilege
Tumeric
Grape Seed
Olive Leaf
Noni
Cat's Claw
Borage Oil
5-HTP
Primrose Oil
White Willow
Ginger
Nettle
MSM

I usually wait it out for a little while before I head to the box that holds the bottles. If I can take care of it with the heat and Arnica tablets and gel/creme I always do that first.

***** Since I am not a medical doctor I use this at my own risk. ****************

But, I have never had any trouble with any of the above items AND ... for me they work.
I usually only take one or two doses and since the pain and swelling go down I stop.

I got the list out of the book "Prescription Nutrition" that is sold in all the health stores and on-line at like Amazon.

[Oscar Wilde]

Try some WD-40

I recall an older conversation in which Cappy and others were proponents of WD-40. I've gotten relief using DMSO.

.... For acupressure, there are a number of books around and probably free information online.

Acupressure is sorely underrated ....

O.W.

[Little RedRidingHood]

There is a great doctor in a town about 75 miles north of me. He is a MD but also a herbalist, and a Chinese trained, German trained accupressure and puncture doctor.
Since I have a very damaged back there are times I can not walk or get out of bed.
BUT, I am happy to say ... that after three appointments with the Doc ... I have not had those types of days since.

Not even when I got runover by a mare and her 8 month old foal!!

This type of treatment worked wonders for me and I swear by it totally!!

[Meemur]

Acupressure is sorely underrated ....
O.W.

It's also extremely inexpensive when one is working on one's self. I was getting interested in acupuncture, but this technique gives many of the benefits without requiring needles.

It's not for all conditions, but it's been useful for loosening muscle cramps due to back and knee problems that throw off one's gait.

[Summerthyme]

For those interested in learning how to do acupressure/trigger point therapy, look for the book called "Pain Erasure" by Bonnie Prudden. It's an excellent primer, and tells how to do the work on yourself, if you don't have a partner to help.. even for "hard to reach" areas like your back.

I do it on hubby all the time, and it often makes the difference between a good night's sleep, or a restless night tossing and turning in pain. Because of my fibromyalgia as well as old orthopedic injuries, I will sometimes end up working on really bad spots in the middle of the night, and it lets me get back to sleep.

When I first started working on hubby (who fell 40 feet off a silo 30 years ago, and suffered multiple fractures of his spine, leg and ankle and foot), he had literally dozens of really bad "trigger points". After several sessions, we got it down to about 6 regular spots, and while he'll never be completely painfree, we're able to keep him comfortable enough so that he outworks most men 30 years younger than him on a regular basis.

If you have a problem like grpwer reports in the original post, you're likely to develop trigger points in the affected limb, AND in your "sound" leg, because of compensating for the problem. Using trigger point therapy can help keep it from developing into an even bigger chronic problem.

Summerthyme

[Oscar Wilde]

For those interested in learning how to do acupressure/trigger point therapy .... if you don't have a partner to help.. even for "hard to reach" areas like your back....

Summerthyme

I've used these for reference for a number of years as well: http://www.amazon.com/Acupressure-Co...0266282&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Reflexology-Wo...0266372&sr=1-1

If you're going it solo, a tennis ball, handball or golf ball can get to the hard to reach spots on your backside.

O.W.

[Caregiver]

Grower, How is it today?

My knees will lockup when they are exposed to cold, damp weather. The only thing that helps is dry heat. If I remember to take stinging nettle daily, I seem to be ok. Now with winter coming, I have to remember to add those in with my other daily vitamins.