Runner's Knee and Acupuncture
What Is Runner’s Knee?
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome often causes a dull pain on the front of the knee. Other common symptoms are: pain in and/or around the knee cap during activity, pain after being seated with knees bent for a long time, weakness or feeling unstable in the knees, rubbing, clicking or grinding during bending or straightening, knee is tender to the touch. Because many of these symptoms could be similar to other conditions, it is important to get a proper diagnosis. Runner’s knee is confirmed via physical exam, a health history intake by a medical provider and sometimes X-ray. A typical Western Medicine treatment plan is to refrain from running until it can be done without pain, along with the use of ice packs, compression wraps, elevation, stretching, strengthening and ibuprofen. (John Hopkins Medicine)
How Can Acupuncture Help?
Acupuncture is known to relieve pain by enhancing endogenous opiates in the body —this is how the body naturally controls pain. Acupuncture can also speed up the healing process by releasing corticosteriods which will reduce inflammation. (2016, Patil et al. ) What I love about acupuncture when it comes to joint injuries, is that it can reach deep into the joint. Tendons, ligaments, cartilage and bones are not as well-circulated with blood supply the way muscles are, which is why injuries in the joints can take longer to heal. The fact that acupuncture can go into a joint means it can increase circulation into those deeper areas like knees, shoulders, ankles and hips. At the same time, acupuncture itself is a very safe and well-tolerated therapy.
A 2020 study by Shi et al. comparing electroacupuncture to manual acupuncture on knee osteoarthritis showed that both methods “reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines, and cartilage degradation biomarkers” while also increasing an anti-inflammatory cytokine, significantly. In 8 weeks during the study, participants with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis showed improvement in pain relief and overall function.
A 2017 meta-analysis of 17 studies (Zhang et al. ) concluded that acupuncture helps with chronic knee pain after 12 weeks of treatment.
Maintenance and Prevention
Regular acupuncture visits during times of rigorous training can be helpful to prevent injuries and/or address them at earlier stages. Acupuncture can also speed recovery from soreness and tightness. When training for races or competition acupuncture will also improve sleep quality and promote optimal digestion that are also important for recovery.
Many runner’s in NYC can’t wait to get back to their running routine. An injury can not only be devastating to someone who is in competition but also to those who run as their regular method of de-stressing. I encourage those with acute injuries like runner’s knee, to seek acupuncture as soon as possible, as frequently as possible if they’re eager to get back at it. The acupuncture treatments will ease pain, speed recover but also help you de-stress in the meantime. Please be sure to have your injuries diagnosed and assessed before you decide to continue training on it!
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Written by Dr. Emily Siy, DACM, L.Ac. on Oct 3, 2022
Sources:
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (Runner’s Knee) John Hopkins Medicine https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/patellofemoral-pain-syndrome-runners-knee
Patil, S., Sen, S., Bral. M., Reddy, S., Bradley, K.K., Cornett, E.M., Fox, C.J., Kaye, A.D. (2016) The Role of Acupuncture in Pain Management. Current Pain and Headache Reports 20:22
Shi, GX, Tu JF, Wang TQ, Yang JW, Wang LQ, Lin LL, Wang Y, Li YT, Liu CZ. (2020) Effect of Electro-Acupuncture (EA) and Manual Acupuncture (MA) on Markers of Inflammation in Knee Osteoarthritis. Journal of Pain Research 13:2171-2179
Zhang, Q., Yue, J., Golianu, B. (2017) Updated Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis of Acupuncture for Chronic Knee Pain Acupuncture Medicine Dec; 35 (6): 392-403