A Tale of Two Knees by Sharone Franzen, LAc

I hadn’t seen Bob* in a couple of years. The back pain I’d treated him for had been
resolved, so I had told him to call me if he needed support with anything in future.
This time, Bob came in a few weeks before he was due for a knee joint replacement.
Since we’d worked together before, he knew my stance on acupuncture for most big
events: get care before and after any procedure.

Oftentimes we just want our surgeon / acupuncturist / dentist / etc to fix our problems for
us, especially when we’re in pain. And sometimes we wait too long, and “fixing” is the
only thing that’s left for our healthcare practitioners to do.

But we’d reap many more rewards in our health by taking a more proactive approach .
It’s much easier to fix things that are not so broken! In Bob’s case, he was willing to get
himself into his best shape possible BEFORE his surgery, so he’d have an easier time
with the healing. His daughter was getting married just a few weeks after his surgery
was scheduled, so he was doubly motivated to heal quickly – he so wanted to move
gracefully for the daughter / father dance at the wedding. So – no pressure! – we got to
work.

Bob came in twice for acupuncture the week before surgery to get his circulation in top
form. He did some upper body weight training at the gymn. He dialed in his diet to
include lots of veggies and top-quality proteins. And he did a bit of visualization work,
imagining himself dancing, hiking, and golfing with his new knee, pain-free.

Bob came back for acupuncture two days after his surgery. He took the herbs I gave
him for scar tissue healing, inflammation, and pain, even though he doesn’t love taking
pills. And he did all of the exercises his physical therapist prescribed daily (which I may
have nagged him about). At his post-op follow-up, his surgeon was impressed with his
recovery. “Much better than I’d expected for a man your age,” the surgeon said. We
both growled over that comment back in my office! Age had little to do with it. After a
few more weeks, he danced the night away at his daughter’s wedding reception, with
only a little soreness leftover the next morning. All in all, excellent job.

Then Bob sent his friend Stephen* to see me. Stephen had had the same type of
surgery as Bob, and even the same surgeon – but six months previously. He was still in
a lot of pain, icing his knee every day, and using a borrowed cane when he had to walk
any small distance. He confessed that before his operation, he had not been
particularly active. Both of his knees had started to bother him years ago, and when
one side kept him from walking, he finally agreed to the joint replacement his doctor had
urged him to do for a long time.

“Well Stephen, it looks like it may take us a few months to get you out of pain,” I told
him.

“Really, a few months?” He was clearly disappointed. “Bob said that he felt great just a
couple of weeks after surgery with your help.”

Hmmm, how to break the truth to Stephen kindly? Bob had gone into his surgery as fit
as possible, with a few acupuncture treatments already under his belt. But I didn’t want
to make Stephen feel too badly about the boat he had long missed, so I said, “Everyone
has a different constitution, so that will affect how quickly an individual heals. Also, the
longer you’ve had any condition, the longer it takes to get back to normal.” Before he
could look too crestfallen, I added, “ But once you’re out of pain, let’s help you get back
into even BETTER shape that you were before your surgery. And we can prepare you
in case you decide to replace the other knee, so it heals much more quickly. Sound
good?”

Stephen reluctantly agreed. He got a bit of pain relief after his first treatment, and his
mood seemed to shift as well. After a couple of weeks, he told me that he enjoyed his
treatments, and loved feeling really relaxed after leaving the clinic each time. His knee
felt much better in a few weeks, and he finally told his doctor that he was ready to do
the surgery for his other knee – and that went really well!

This lesson in preparedness can be applied to many health issues: Build up your
immune system BEFORE cold and flu season. Tend to a sore tooth BEFORE it
becomes infected. Get prenatal care BEFORE your due date. Do a detox program
BEFORE seasonal allergies hit. You get the picture! With just a little pre-planning,
many major health issues can be minimized, and you’ll feel better sooner.

Let us know if we can help!

*Even though we’ve received consent to share their stories, we change the names of
our patients for privacy.

This post was entirely written by a human being.