Swelling--Mysteries, Possibilities
Hello! I came looking for clues about my own right-knee swelling, which has escalated during the past year from intermittent, activity-aggravated, and responsive-to-ice-and-Ibuprofin...to chronic, all-day, nearly-unrelated-to-activity-or-rest, and unresponsive to self-care. As I read others' stories--many of you are suffering much more, and at a younger age, than I am--and my heart goes out to each one of you!!
So--before I ask my questions, I offer these possibilities: In your multiple medical consultations, have you been tested for gout, high potassium, high sodium (in blood or urine), or any other weakeness of liver, kidneys, or gall bladder that could lead to fluid unrelated to your neuromuscular system being discharged into your knee(s)? Has the actual fluid from the knee been biopsied for any suspicious cells or elements? Have you all been tested for Lyme disease?
And you've been tested for the many rare auto-immune disorders (disorders in which the body's immune system attacks one or more of its own tissues)--as well as the more common auto-immune conditions such as RA, and lupus? How about celiac disease (extreme allergy to wheat & any other source of gluten), which is notoriously inflammatory for anyone who has it?
And you have checked out everything you can on the chiropractic level--spinal alignment, evenness of hips? And made sure that you are using well-fitted orthotics, and if you have a one-leg-longer issue that is not correctable by good spinal adjustment/alignment, you have tried a lift to even your legs?
Finally, many people with mysterious inflammatory ailments have either common, unsuspected allergies, or unusual, idiosyncratic ones. These could be food elements, or even environmental toxins. These are often best diagnosed by a practitioner of one of kinesiology systems (there are hundreds) that specializes in allergy testing. The international website for practitioners of most of the higher-integrity types of kinesiology was IASK.com (or maybe .org) a few years ago; I did not check before starting this email.
Find a kinesiology practitioner who uses "muscle testing" (it does NOT hurt; I promise you!) as a way for your body to tell the kinesiologist what foods or supplements it wants, and which ones may be hurting or stressing your body.
Before making an appointment that will cost you money, do a telephone or email interview and make sure this practitioner respects and includes a "hair test for hydration" for BOTH you as the client and him/her as the practitioner. This is essential, because the extremely common condition of "subclinical dehydration"--which can exist without a HINT of thirst--can taint the results of muscle testing. Your muscle tests could end up conveying the practitioner's sensitivies instead of your own! Not every type of kinesiology respects this detail, but I have seen (in workshop after workshop) that results are not accurate until both practitioner and client have taken in enough plain water for each to test "clear" on the hair test. This sounds complicated, but takes just a minute or two. Once I had to drink more than a quart of water before I was clear enough to proceed with a session!
By the way, some kinesiology practices also include ways of healing allergies, and if you can find a high-integrity practitioner well-trained in this, it is worth trying. A friend studying such a technique, using me as a "practice client," cured my lifelong allergy to walnuts in 3 minutes!
Special note to TIM, if it was you who wrote that you are a vegan, who has Crohn's disease: Knowing that every body and its needs are completely unique, I will still share with you that a close friend who had severe Crohn's found that he was healthiest after relinquishing his vegetarianism and adding red meat and dairy back to his diet. Believe it or not, he also discovered that honey and maple syrup triggered flare-ups, and white sugar was benign for his body! It is possible that your body would welcome some form of animal input--at minimum, perhaps some wild-caught salmon for those Omega-3 fatty acids that are both essential to most humans, and also anti-inflammatory. As an inveterate user and experimenter with hundreds of dietary and herbal supplements, I always also keep in mind that no essential nutrient can be supplied to our bodies through a supplement ALONE--because in foods, the nutrient has dozens or even hundreds of companion compounds that synergistically help the essential nutrient work--in ways that we haven't begun to understand, and probably could not duplicate completely even if we DID understand them!
My very, very best wishes and prayers to all!
And now, two questions: Does anyone know anything about subtle, partial dislocation of the femur? There is lots of discussion on the web about patellar subluxation and disclocation, but my felt sense is that my patella is not the issue. I physically have felt my femer being "loose" at times--and shifting inward or outward behind my kneecap (when my knee was bent and not bearing weight), in a way that caused sudden sharp pain. I have always been able to shake or somehow move my leg so that the femur returned to its proper place--until a moment 4 months ago when I never felt it quite "got back."
It was, in retrospect, that same week that my knee swelling became daily, chronic, and unrelated to activity or rest. I had experienced bouts of this chronic-ness before, during the past year--lasting from 2 days to 3 weeks--but now it has gone on steadily for about 4 months--with the degree of pain and swelling getting worse and worse. My gut sense, and physical feeling, is that my femur is just a tiny bit dislocated toward the inside surface of my leg--toward the place where my knees come together, standing--AND slightly "forward"--maybe 20 degrees. My hunch is that this is pressing on muscles and ligaments (they certainly feel sore when gently pressed!), causing fluid to build up (as often in a "balloon" just ABOVE the knee as around the joint itself).
Just today, my wonderful chiropractor, who does NOT normally adjust knees, worked on this with me, as she took my experience seriously and thought it could be accurate. I feel some return to a more normally-seated femur, but also lots of potential instability--so we shall see.
Thus, question one: Has anyone reading this experienced anything LIKE this? If so, I would be grateful to hear your details, and/or any other source of specific information on possible causes, healing, and prevention.
Question 2: Can any of you recommend a type of brace or wrap--or even specific brand and style--to: A) Keep the femur and patella correctly located, even during activity (not strenuous!; I just want to walk comfortably and try returning to my beloved low-impact aerobic/step classes; B) Actually COMPRESS the lower thigh and knee so that they do not swell as much, even if they "want to"?
Thank you, thank you!!!
Again, blessings and prayers to all,
Ariel
arielpublic@comcast.net
From:
arielpublic@comcast.net
