Foot issue
- Thread starter Laurs
- Start date
Yes, I am a fan of DMSO and have put it on my knees, (especially after reading this article by AMD) and i think it works but found that when they are swollen with fluid, the ginger poultice is more effective. What did not work though, is mixing DMSO with Dr Christopher's Bone and Tissue Massage Oil and then rubbing it on, strangely enough, that made them swell up even more and become painful! BTW, i had a varicose vein below the left knee on the side of the calf, and put a few drops of DMSO on it regularly, and it has 80% disappeared! Truly amazing stuff, so i will keep using it on the knees. Thanks hlat 
ivanb
Jedi
Hello Laurs
ivanb
Jedi
Here an update on my osteoarthritis (OA) situation. Both orthopaedic specialists (including the second opinion one) I spoke with after the grade IV knee OA diagnosis advised that in my case only injections with hyaluronic acid into my knees for as long as possible before installing knee replacements would be an option. In Holland they basically stopped administering injections with hyaluronic acid in knees as studies showed it seemed to promote OA after a while, so that was a big no no. So I spent much time researching possibilities for grade IV knee OA besides knee replacement, which I want to avoid as long as I can.
It seems that more and more people around and under 50 develop (severe) OA and they think it has to do with having played contact sports and the like from an early age onwards. In Holland f.i. it is causing a huge drain on health costs as well as problems on the labour market, which drives the development of new techniques (however not without resistance of many medical specialists involved who can see their lucrative market of knee replacement surgery dry up).
From what I’ve read so far, it's not totally hopeless and it seems that there are quite a number of things that can be done with minimally invasive procedures and very good results! Most cartilage tissue regenerative treatments however work especially well for grades II and III, so I eventually opt for stem cell therapy at a clinic in Germany, which will take place on the 19th of March. This doctor and his practice came highly recommended by a Dutch association of OA patients, who keep an online blog with lots of information. If the stem cell therapy proves unsuccessful, all other treatments will still be open to me, which I view as a big plus. I will give it a period of 2 years and see how it all goes.
Basically, I need to go there only once. A week before the procedure, I will need to submit some lab blood tests regarding infection and the like, and if that is all okay, I come in, he will extract mesenchymal stem cells from my belly fat by liposuction, concentrate these and inject them into my foot and both knees. Whole thing will take 2 hours after which I can go home. He was very optimistic about my foot and thinks it will return to a near perfect state after the procedure. Knees are a different story as especially in the left one there is a bone on bone situation. He was adamant that I understand that the knees will have improved mobility for only about 2 to 3 years, after which the procedure can be repeated again and again. For now that’s good for me. I told him my hope is to be able to go for a walk of about 5 K on fairly flat terrain. Cost of the procedure is Euro 6K. Fingers crossed! Perhaps anyone here has experienced such a treatment or knows someone who has?
Besides swimming and air biking, I enlisted the help of a physical therapist, who has given me many exercises I can do, as well as a body work therapist, to help me get in touch with my body more, which also helps to release rigidity and become more flexible.
Last but not least, for pain management I mix a little less than 1 mg of curcuma with mct oil and water up to 2 times a day at mealtimes, and so far have not experienced much pain. Borax too, 1 teaspoon with meals up to twice a day. Haven’t particularly noticed if it does anything, but I keep on taking it, especially as the C’s said (session of 13th January 2024) that borax will be very useful.
It seems that more and more people around and under 50 develop (severe) OA and they think it has to do with having played contact sports and the like from an early age onwards. In Holland f.i. it is causing a huge drain on health costs as well as problems on the labour market, which drives the development of new techniques (however not without resistance of many medical specialists involved who can see their lucrative market of knee replacement surgery dry up).
From what I’ve read so far, it's not totally hopeless and it seems that there are quite a number of things that can be done with minimally invasive procedures and very good results! Most cartilage tissue regenerative treatments however work especially well for grades II and III, so I eventually opt for stem cell therapy at a clinic in Germany, which will take place on the 19th of March. This doctor and his practice came highly recommended by a Dutch association of OA patients, who keep an online blog with lots of information. If the stem cell therapy proves unsuccessful, all other treatments will still be open to me, which I view as a big plus. I will give it a period of 2 years and see how it all goes.
Basically, I need to go there only once. A week before the procedure, I will need to submit some lab blood tests regarding infection and the like, and if that is all okay, I come in, he will extract mesenchymal stem cells from my belly fat by liposuction, concentrate these and inject them into my foot and both knees. Whole thing will take 2 hours after which I can go home. He was very optimistic about my foot and thinks it will return to a near perfect state after the procedure. Knees are a different story as especially in the left one there is a bone on bone situation. He was adamant that I understand that the knees will have improved mobility for only about 2 to 3 years, after which the procedure can be repeated again and again. For now that’s good for me. I told him my hope is to be able to go for a walk of about 5 K on fairly flat terrain. Cost of the procedure is Euro 6K. Fingers crossed! Perhaps anyone here has experienced such a treatment or knows someone who has?
Besides swimming and air biking, I enlisted the help of a physical therapist, who has given me many exercises I can do, as well as a body work therapist, to help me get in touch with my body more, which also helps to release rigidity and become more flexible.
Last but not least, for pain management I mix a little less than 1 mg of curcuma with mct oil and water up to 2 times a day at mealtimes, and so far have not experienced much pain. Borax too, 1 teaspoon with meals up to twice a day. Haven’t particularly noticed if it does anything, but I keep on taking it, especially as the C’s said (session of 13th January 2024) that borax will be very useful.
As an aside, for people with Grade II and III OA in knees, I found the following regenerative treatments:
Genicular artery embolization (GAE) is an innovative minimally invasive therapy for patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. The genicular arteries have several branches that form a network around the knee joint. These vessels are altered in patients suffering from osteoarthritis.In GAE, an interventional radiologist injects small particles into selected branches that correspond to the site of knee pain to block blood flow to that area. Embolization of the abnormal blood vessels helps to disrupt the cycle of inflammation, cartilage destruction and sensory nerve growth that characterizes osteoarthritis.
See amongst other sites:
Genicular artery embolization for treatment of knee osteoarthritis pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis - PMC
Genicular artery embolization (GAE) is a novel, minimally invasive procedure for treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA). This meta-analysis investigated the safety and effectiveness of this procedure. Outcomes of this systematic review with ...pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Minimally Invasive Procedure Relieves Knee Arthritis
dailybulletin.rsna.org
Knee pain relief: The rise of genicular artery embolisation
An expert gives us an insight into genicular artery embolisationwww.topdoctors.co.uk
Minimally invasive procedure relieves knee arthritis
A minimally invasive procedure provides significant relief from knee pain and may prevent the need for knee replacement surgery in people with osteoarthritis, according to a study being presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).www.eurekalert.org
It seems GAE for knee OA is mostly practiced in the US, UK and Germany. Interestingly, it is an intervention radiologist who executes this minimally invasive procedure, and I read that it’s also used for prostate issues and fibroids, among other things. I listened to a podcast (in Dutch) with a Dutch intervention radiologist / professor who said that in Holland most cases of fibroids were treated by hysterectomy, whereas performing GAE was effective in 80% of the cases! When he discussed this in Holland, he got the whole gynaecologist community together with the pharma boys up in arms against him! No surprise there.
Platelet Rich Plasma injections:
From: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001868623001975:
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is defined as an autologous blood product which contains an elevated concentration of platelets above that of whole blood. Preparation techniques vary but typically, one-step or two step centrifugation is carried out to separate red blood cells and the supernatant is composed of plasma with a high concentration of platelets [43]. The resulting PRP contains a plethora of proteins, growth factors and anti-inflammatory cytokines and is injected into the knee joint to induce cellular proliferation, migration, and differentiation, making it a suitable therapeutic agent for cartilage tissue engineering [44,45]. However, the use of PRP is not recommended by several institutions owing to the lack of standardisation with the preparation protocol [46,47].
By the way, I found this on Hyaluronic acid injections, so one might be wary of those:
Purpose: Intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) is performed as a conservative treatment for knee osteoarthritis (OA). HA has diverse pharmacological actions. In addition to increased lubrication of joint surfaces, its actions have been reported to include inhibition of the release of inflammatory cytokines and promotion of endogenous HA production. While many reports have suggested that injection of HA is clinically effective for knee OA, the actual improvement only seems to be modest. It has also been reported that injection of HA did not prevent the progression of knee OA, but rather promoted it. Thus, there are many unanswered questions about intra-articular HA therapy. The purpose of this study is imaging evaluation of patients who received long-term treatment with intra-articular HA for knee OA was conducted.
There is a practitioner in Holland who works with HA injections with a high molecular weight (I don’t know what this means, I asked him but he didn’t answer that part of my questions) and is very enthusiastic about them. Though he did say that for my Grade IV, he would also advise stem cell therapy.
Knee distraction method:
For patients under 65, knee distraction seems to be a solution. In Holland they’ve been doing this for 10 years already, but because insurers do not cover this procedure, one university hospital in Holland recently started a clinical trial with knee distraction treatment after which they hope coverage will be included. This video explains what they are doing, but basically, the knee bones are pulled 2 mm apart from each other during 6 to 7 weeks, with metal pins etc. attached to the bones, whereafter cartilage is given a chance to regrow. The procedure is painful with a long recovery time. I watched the video, and thought that something like that combined with stem cell therapy would perhaps work for people with severe bone on bone OA. Some people have been pain free for over 10 years after this treatment. Something to keep in mind.
Role of joint distraction in osteoarthritis of the knee: Basic science, principles and outcomes - PMC
The burden of knee osteoarthritis (OA) is increasing worldwide. Advanced tibiofemoral joint OA in young patients is particularly a problem with inferior results seen with total knee arthroplasty in this patient population. Knee joint distraction ...
Nieuwe behandeling voor knieartrose nu in het ziekenhuis | ReumaNederland
Voor mensen met ernstige knieartrose die nog te jong zijn voreumanederland.nl
Stem cell therapy:
Costs of the procedure between various European countries vary widely: from Euro 5 K in Belgium, 20K in the UK to 50K here in Portugal (in a richy-rich resort where professional football players and the like have their mansions).
Conclusion from a study from May 2023: The Current State of Osteoarthritis Treatment Options Using Stem Cells for Regenerative Therapy: A Review - PMC
In conclusion, untreated osteoarthritis will not heal spontaneously, and current standard treatments are very limited due to the lack of vascularization in the cartilage tissue. Therefore, stem cell therapy seems to be the most promising for the regeneration of joint tissue, especially in the middle to late stages of the disease. Of the various stem cell types, mesenchymal stem cells are the most promising since they are relatively easy to harvest, proliferate very well, do not cause tumor formation, and are very well tolerated by the immune system. Hopefully, in the near future, it will be relatively routine to treat patients with this technology, since it has progressed relatively rapidly from animal models to chondrocyte transplantation, and then to our current state of bone marrow-derived MSC therapy.
Stamceltherapie : Behandeling van artrose met stamcellen
Stamceltherapie zeer succesvol in de VS maar hoe ver staan zijn we in Nederland? Duidelijke informatie over stamceltherapie met de laatste ontwikkelingen.www.artrose-blog.nl
BMAC-injectie kan knieprothese bij patiënten met ernstige knieartrose voorkomen
Opvallend is dat de noodzaak voor knieprotheses gedurende de onderzoeksperiode werd geëlimineerd, wat de potentie van BMAC als een effectief alternatief voor invasieve chirurgische ingrepen benadrukt.
Stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis • Arthroprax Dr. Olaf Beck
Stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis. If you have osteoarthritis, avoid artificial prosthesis of your joint.www.arthro-prax.de
Breo
The Living Force
Hallo Laurs, in addition, to what you are doing, maybe this is helpful to you. Since some months, I am doing a topical experiment, and thought, maybe it could also support you. Its something I am trying out... so FWIW :) I find it´s topical application very helpful for joints and overall conditions of inflammation and detox.
DMSO, MSM (DMSO 2), Borax and Mg oil topically applied.
It can be applied on different areas of the body, depending where needed. Each solutions can be mixed on your own with filtered water, MSM and Borax from powder. Its important to start out slow to avoid strong detox symptoms. Also different areas of the body will need different amounts. Dosage may vary individually. That´s what I experimented with:
topical Borax/H20: 1TS up to 3TS/250ml
topical MSM /H20: 1TS up to 4TS/250ml
topical Mg oil
topical DMSO/H2O: 30%-70% up to 70%-30%
Different areas of the body will need different solutions of DMSO. See DMSO thread.
On MSM, that I knew little before, so I started to read. Gaby mentiones MSM (DMSO 2) in an SOTT article on DMSO:
Keyhole also refers to MSM in a video on "Oxalate Dumping: How to deal with it?", where also additional nutrients are recommended.
Below is an interesting article on MSM from NIH, also on osteoarthritis, that connects different functional medicine topics, stating that MSM operates on a "crosstalk of inflammation and oxidative stress" on a subcellular level. It "has anti-inflammatory properties as it reduces cytokine level" and "may indirectly have an inhibitory role on mast cell mediation of inflammation." Because of these properties "in vitro studies suggest that MSM protects cartilage degradation" of osteoarthritis. "MSM supplementation in OA mice significantly decreased cartilage surface degeneration. However, the magnitude of this physiological response was not large enough to protect against cartilage erosion."
Also here are additional nutrients recommended, D, glucosamine, boswellic acid and EDTA.
DMSO, MSM (DMSO 2), Borax and Mg oil topically applied.
It can be applied on different areas of the body, depending where needed. Each solutions can be mixed on your own with filtered water, MSM and Borax from powder. Its important to start out slow to avoid strong detox symptoms. Also different areas of the body will need different amounts. Dosage may vary individually. That´s what I experimented with:
topical Borax/H20: 1TS up to 3TS/250ml
topical MSM /H20: 1TS up to 4TS/250ml
topical Mg oil
topical DMSO/H2O: 30%-70% up to 70%-30%
Different areas of the body will need different solutions of DMSO. See DMSO thread.
On MSM, that I knew little before, so I started to read. Gaby mentiones MSM (DMSO 2) in an SOTT article on DMSO:
Keyhole also refers to MSM in a video on "Oxalate Dumping: How to deal with it?", where also additional nutrients are recommended.
Below is an interesting article on MSM from NIH, also on osteoarthritis, that connects different functional medicine topics, stating that MSM operates on a "crosstalk of inflammation and oxidative stress" on a subcellular level. It "has anti-inflammatory properties as it reduces cytokine level" and "may indirectly have an inhibitory role on mast cell mediation of inflammation." Because of these properties "in vitro studies suggest that MSM protects cartilage degradation" of osteoarthritis. "MSM supplementation in OA mice significantly decreased cartilage surface degeneration. However, the magnitude of this physiological response was not large enough to protect against cartilage erosion."
Also here are additional nutrients recommended, D, glucosamine, boswellic acid and EDTA.
Theodor
Padawan Learner
Hello Laurs, I hope you feel better soon.
I recently came across the book entitled The Osteoarthritis Lie. The book is also available as a Kindle version or audio CD. Their website explains that the book is available in nine languages.
Roland Liebscher-Bracht and Dr. Petra Bracht (M.D.) are the authors and have been working with the topic of osteoarthritis for over 35 years. Since 2007, they have been training physicians, osteopaths, alternative practitioners, physiotherapists, and those interested in healing methods in the newly developed pain therapy "Osteopressure" and its exercises. There is a network of therapists in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
With the book title The Osteoarthritis Lie and further statements such as “The false reality of osteoarthritis pain” and “Medicine’s century-old error”, the authors take a stand on conventional medical opinion and explain their experiences with osteoarthritis as a counter-position.
The book answers the following questions, among others:
By the way, whether it's stem cell therapy or starting to run wildly through the forest, according to Liebscher and Brecht, the only permanent solution is to have healthy joints for as long as you live, using the joint movement angles given by nature to keep muscles and fascia appropriately stretched and flexible so that the joint is permanently able to receive nutrients and release waste products. According to the authors, all mainstream therapies, however well-intentioned, are at best a short-term symptom treatment without taking into account the cause and long-term solution (including stem cell treatment).
Have a look at the thread I’ve created about it for more info, if you're interested.
I recently came across the book entitled The Osteoarthritis Lie. The book is also available as a Kindle version or audio CD. Their website explains that the book is available in nine languages.
Roland Liebscher-Bracht and Dr. Petra Bracht (M.D.) are the authors and have been working with the topic of osteoarthritis for over 35 years. Since 2007, they have been training physicians, osteopaths, alternative practitioners, physiotherapists, and those interested in healing methods in the newly developed pain therapy "Osteopressure" and its exercises. There is a network of therapists in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
With the book title The Osteoarthritis Lie and further statements such as “The false reality of osteoarthritis pain” and “Medicine’s century-old error”, the authors take a stand on conventional medical opinion and explain their experiences with osteoarthritis as a counter-position.
The book answers the following questions, among others:
- How does osteoarthritis develop?
- What role does it play how often we move a joint in the development of osteoarthritis?
- Why can people have osteoarthritis, but not pain, and vice versa?
- How do heavy weigths affect the joints?
- What role does age, obesity, and genes play?
- What are the benefits of non-drug therapies?
- The pros and cons of drug-based pain relief
- What are the benefits of joint-preserving surgery?
- Is an artificial joint beneficial?
- The usefulness of dietary supplements
By the way, whether it's stem cell therapy or starting to run wildly through the forest, according to Liebscher and Brecht, the only permanent solution is to have healthy joints for as long as you live, using the joint movement angles given by nature to keep muscles and fascia appropriately stretched and flexible so that the joint is permanently able to receive nutrients and release waste products. According to the authors, all mainstream therapies, however well-intentioned, are at best a short-term symptom treatment without taking into account the cause and long-term solution (including stem cell treatment).
Have a look at the thread I’ve created about it for more info, if you're interested.
It’s now almost 7 weeks ago that I had the mesenchymal stem cell therapy in Germany in both knees and my foot. It was a very straightforward intervention. The doctor first discussed the mri images with me, then I had to step into a tray filled with a sort of styrofoam to take footprints for the insoles, after which it was time for the procedure. First the extraction of belly fat to harvest the stem cells, then extraction of blood from my inner elbow vein to get blood plasma, which was concentrated and mixed with the stem cells, and after anaesthetic injections in knees and foot, the mixture was injected in the joints (which was quite painful). All in all it took less than 2 hours, and the cost amounted to 6K Euro in total (3K per knee and the foot was complimentary). The doctor runs his practice together with his wife, a nurse, and they get clients with knee problems like mine from all over the world.
The doctor said that it takes 4 months for the stem cells to do their work, so almost half way there. The first 3 weeks they were swollen and stiff and I just took a lot of rest. I was also very very tired, which is only getting better now. But almost after 2 weeks already, I could go up and down stairs with no pain at all, which I found truly amazing. I wanted to take things real slow, so gradually I built up from 15 mins walking (at a snail pace) to 35 mins of brisk walking today. I also introduced swimming, started with 20 mins and now 30 mins, all going well. Not once have I had the really nasty ‘arthritis pains.’ At various times of day and night it feels like I can feel those stem cells at work, with little stabs and unpleasant sensations in odd places around the joints. I’d like to think that means that the cells are growing into cartilage tissue.
The doctor said that if I wear the special insoles that he had made for me at all times, I am good for another 6 years, which would be fantastic. After those 6 years, the procedure is repeatable, which would also be fantastic. He did say that in my case, for it to last 6 years, as the bones are touching laterally, any sports I do has to be restricted to only walking and swimming, as well as upper body weight training and some yoga and stretching. I mentioned the knee distraction method (as described in a previous post) as another avenue, but he dismissed that out of hand. He argued that this method is brought to fore in pilot programs every so many years, but it never works.
FWIW, according to the instructions the doctor sent me before the procedure, one cannot take NSAIDS, paracetamol, aspirin from 2 weeks before until 1 week after the procedure, nor must one shave the area during those 3 weeks.
I am very happy with the information you shared in your above post @Theodor, thank you so much, and I think I will forward that website to my doctor, perhaps he's familiar with Liebscher-Bracht. I am checking out their website, and it seems any pain stems from muscular-fascial tensions, which must be normalised through appropriate exercises (which they share freely). Well, that is something I can easily do at home! I will also order the book, seems very interesting.
Half September, that will be 6 months after the procedure, I have a consultation with the doctor by phone. Let’s hope things continue onwards and upwards
The doctor said that it takes 4 months for the stem cells to do their work, so almost half way there. The first 3 weeks they were swollen and stiff and I just took a lot of rest. I was also very very tired, which is only getting better now. But almost after 2 weeks already, I could go up and down stairs with no pain at all, which I found truly amazing. I wanted to take things real slow, so gradually I built up from 15 mins walking (at a snail pace) to 35 mins of brisk walking today. I also introduced swimming, started with 20 mins and now 30 mins, all going well. Not once have I had the really nasty ‘arthritis pains.’ At various times of day and night it feels like I can feel those stem cells at work, with little stabs and unpleasant sensations in odd places around the joints. I’d like to think that means that the cells are growing into cartilage tissue.
The doctor said that if I wear the special insoles that he had made for me at all times, I am good for another 6 years, which would be fantastic. After those 6 years, the procedure is repeatable, which would also be fantastic. He did say that in my case, for it to last 6 years, as the bones are touching laterally, any sports I do has to be restricted to only walking and swimming, as well as upper body weight training and some yoga and stretching. I mentioned the knee distraction method (as described in a previous post) as another avenue, but he dismissed that out of hand. He argued that this method is brought to fore in pilot programs every so many years, but it never works.
FWIW, according to the instructions the doctor sent me before the procedure, one cannot take NSAIDS, paracetamol, aspirin from 2 weeks before until 1 week after the procedure, nor must one shave the area during those 3 weeks.
I am very happy with the information you shared in your above post @Theodor, thank you so much
, and I think I will forward that website to my doctor, perhaps he's familiar with Liebscher-Bracht. I am checking out their website, and it seems any pain stems from muscular-fascial tensions, which must be normalised through appropriate exercises (which they share freely). Well, that is something I can easily do at home! I will also order the book, seems very interesting.Half September, that will be 6 months after the procedure, I have a consultation with the doctor by phone. Let’s hope things continue onwards and upwards
I'm not doing surgery anymore. What I used to do for moderate degenerative arthritis (mainly in head of 1st metatarsal), was to curette out diseased cartilage and then drill into that underlying bone to produce some pattern of spots of bleeding. Then patient was very soon put on range of motion exercise. Idea was to develop fibrocartilage in the space, rather than continued degeneration of the diseased hyaline cartilage. This was commonly done during bunion correction procedures. Of course, corrective re-alignments were done at the same time. Very good results. There were so many potential complications with joint implants that I decided not to use those.
Mechanical pathologies in feet are all kind of unique (as are faces). These definitely affect other body parts going up the kinetic chain. It's a highly under-addressed subject in terms of development of many types of arthritis, IMO.
I believe the future of joint care will be in the direction of early interventional therapeutics.
Mechanical pathologies in feet are all kind of unique (as are faces). These definitely affect other body parts going up the kinetic chain. It's a highly under-addressed subject in terms of development of many types of arthritis, IMO.
I believe the future of joint care will be in the direction of early interventional therapeutics.
There are natural supplements that help with cartilage regeneration, one of which is collagen. Not only does it can it help repair it, but it protects against further wear as well.
There is a particular potent version of it called UC-II (undenatured type II collagen), which NOW sells if you'd like to try it.
Cartilage is made up of collagen, so saturating with similar supplements should help. Cartilage is also made up of 70-80% water, so keeping hydration levels during the repair process is essential to the repair process.
I've not seen any studies on its efficacy with stage 4 OA, but if you don't already have a method to address cartilage repair and regeneration, this can be a possible pathway. There are promising research papers toting UC-II as helping OA in humans and animals. What's more, higher doses (up to a certain point) show greater benefits that include faster recovery times.
There is a particular potent version of it called UC-II (undenatured type II collagen), which NOW sells if you'd like to try it.
Cartilage is made up of collagen, so saturating with similar supplements should help. Cartilage is also made up of 70-80% water, so keeping hydration levels during the repair process is essential to the repair process.
I've not seen any studies on its efficacy with stage 4 OA, but if you don't already have a method to address cartilage repair and regeneration, this can be a possible pathway. There are promising research papers toting UC-II as helping OA in humans and animals. What's more, higher doses (up to a certain point) show greater benefits that include faster recovery times.
So today marks the end of the 4-month period of the stem cells doing their job. And what a job they did! The results are nothing less than spectacular!
Of course my foot and knees will never be what they were, but the bone spurs in my foot have significantly lessened, there is still enlargement of the bone but it has become less and practically painless and I can walk easily. I do wear the doctor’s insoles 24/7, but continue to do France’s foot exercises (see the beginning of this thread) to strengthen the foot muscles.
The inflammation that was present in both knees has disappeared for 90%. There is still some left in a pocket right above the left knee, due to which I cannot sit on my knees or in the tailor sit, but I am totally fine with that. It seems that the menisci in both knees, or the small jagged pieces that were visible on the MRI, have grown back to the extent that I can walk stairs without ANY pain or even sensitivity. I gradually increased the time of my walks, as well as the incline, to up to an hour at one go, and that was my goal to begin with, so Yay! I also resumed cooking and the prep that goes with it, so standing for more than an hour, as well as the clearing and dishes part, and am super happy to be able to do that again!
I checked out the Liebsscher/Bracht website and material as suggested by Theodor above and bought their calf stretchers (see above), and I think they help really well in keeping the joints flexible and mobile. I even stand on them when brushing my teeth and stuff.
Now for the first 3 months I was super tired in the afternoons, like floored as from 3 pm onwards. It was similar to the tiredness I felt during my pregnancies in the first trimester. I thought it was the stem cells hard at work to repair things, and I fully gave in. Luckily I had the time to do so.
Also, from April onwards, each night before bed, I applied Andiroba oil with its sister oil Copaiba to my knees and foot (and the andiroba on my face, which made a doctor confirmed rosacea diagnosis disappear already after 5 applications). First I did a little experiment, and applied it only on my left knee, and in the night I felt all these aches and sensations in all the nooks and cranny of the knee, as well as in the top of the tibia. First I thought like Oh No, but was too tired to go and wash it off. But the next morning, there was no pain at all and an improvement of mobility, so after 2 more nights, I subsequently rubbed it on both knees and my foot before going to bed. Miraculous stuff and definitively something to keep in the medical kit imo. I sourced it here, and this is what Grok summarized about andiroba and copaiba oil:
Since January I also enlisted the help of a psychosomatic therapist to restore my connection to my body, uncover fears, anxieties and old hurts, and help me move through this period releasing all these things that were not helpful anymore in my life. Regular practice of Laura's meditations, EE, and the books discussed at various places on the forum Inviting a Monkey to Tea: Befriending your Mind and Discovering Lasting Contentment by Nancy Collier, Healing Developmental Trauma by Laurence Heller, Adult Children of Alcoholics by Janet Geringer Woititz and Gabor Mate’s When the Body Says No were indispensable in this process. So upwards and onwards!
Interestingly, I heard many stories of people my age who struggle with severe OA in their knees, and one decided to have anthrosamid injections, which I had not heard of before, and says that for now she had very good results from it. But anyway, I’m fine for now, knowing my knees will never be like before, but with adaptation of my daily activities to keep fit, so in my case only walking and swimming, I hope my knees and foot will hold out for a long time. Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions and comments and thanks for reading
Of course my foot and knees will never be what they were, but the bone spurs in my foot have significantly lessened, there is still enlargement of the bone but it has become less and practically painless and I can walk easily. I do wear the doctor’s insoles 24/7, but continue to do France’s foot exercises (see the beginning of this thread) to strengthen the foot muscles.
The inflammation that was present in both knees has disappeared for 90%. There is still some left in a pocket right above the left knee, due to which I cannot sit on my knees or in the tailor sit, but I am totally fine with that. It seems that the menisci in both knees, or the small jagged pieces that were visible on the MRI, have grown back to the extent that I can walk stairs without ANY pain or even sensitivity. I gradually increased the time of my walks, as well as the incline, to up to an hour at one go, and that was my goal to begin with, so Yay! I also resumed cooking and the prep that goes with it, so standing for more than an hour, as well as the clearing and dishes part, and am super happy to be able to do that again!
I checked out the Liebsscher/Bracht website and material as suggested by Theodor above and bought their calf stretchers (see above), and I think they help really well in keeping the joints flexible and mobile. I even stand on them when brushing my teeth and stuff.
Now for the first 3 months I was super tired in the afternoons, like floored as from 3 pm onwards. It was similar to the tiredness I felt during my pregnancies in the first trimester. I thought it was the stem cells hard at work to repair things, and I fully gave in. Luckily I had the time to do so.
Also, from April onwards, each night before bed, I applied Andiroba oil with its sister oil Copaiba to my knees and foot (and the andiroba on my face, which made a doctor confirmed rosacea diagnosis disappear already after 5 applications). First I did a little experiment, and applied it only on my left knee, and in the night I felt all these aches and sensations in all the nooks and cranny of the knee, as well as in the top of the tibia. First I thought like Oh No, but was too tired to go and wash it off. But the next morning, there was no pain at all and an improvement of mobility, so after 2 more nights, I subsequently rubbed it on both knees and my foot before going to bed. Miraculous stuff and definitively something to keep in the medical kit imo. I sourced it here, and this is what Grok summarized about andiroba and copaiba oil:
Since January I also enlisted the help of a psychosomatic therapist to restore my connection to my body, uncover fears, anxieties and old hurts, and help me move through this period releasing all these things that were not helpful anymore in my life. Regular practice of Laura's meditations, EE, and the books discussed at various places on the forum Inviting a Monkey to Tea: Befriending your Mind and Discovering Lasting Contentment by Nancy Collier, Healing Developmental Trauma by Laurence Heller, Adult Children of Alcoholics by Janet Geringer Woititz and Gabor Mate’s When the Body Says No were indispensable in this process. So upwards and onwards!
Interestingly, I heard many stories of people my age who struggle with severe OA in their knees, and one decided to have anthrosamid injections, which I had not heard of before, and says that for now she had very good results from it. But anyway, I’m fine for now, knowing my knees will never be like before, but with adaptation of my daily activities to keep fit, so in my case only walking and swimming, I hope my knees and foot will hold out for a long time. Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions and comments and thanks for reading
Trending content
-
Thread 'Coronavirus Pandemic: Apocalypse Now! Or exaggerated scare story?'
- wanderingthomas
Replies: 30K -
-
-
