I have had knee problems for a long time. I messed up my knee when I was 11 and as I got older I still played a lot of sports and those activities lead to more knee injuries.
I have had a few knee surgeries but I have never liked taking the pain pills that were given to me after surgery. They always made me very sleepy and unproductive.
Now that I am older, my knee is at the point that it needs to be replaced, but at the same time, I am only in my 40’s and not ready for a total knee replacement.
I am not able to take anti-inflammatory drugs and over the counter pain pills just do not work. So, needless to say, I have had to look for alternative methods to treat pain and swelling.
I messed up my knee again last year and needed surgery again. This time the pain and the swelling stuck around for much longer and they have told me again that I need to get my knee replaced… and once again I told them that I am not ready for that yet. I have no cartilage in my knee, my meniscus was removed, and I have severe arthritis, so needless to say, I have pain every day.
A few friends started talking to me about different alternative therapies that I should try for pain and at that point I was ready to try anything. I started using a CBD salve on my knee and to my surprise, it actually started helping. It didn’t help with the inflammation, but it did help with the pain.
This opened my eyes to other forms of alternative health therapies that may help me.
I started getting massages on a regular basis, I mean seriously, who doesn’t like a massage!? I also started doing some acupuncture as well.
Overall, my knee is doing better these days and I am trying to hold off on getting my knee replaced by trying things that I never thought that I would. All of these things are non-evasive and are easy on my body in general.
I find myself telling people that they should try different things that their family doctors may not recommend. And this is not a shot at family doctors. I personally have a great family doctor who does not over prescribe and asks about overall life habits when I go to see him. But, my family doctor has never suggested anything other than regular healthcare.
So, my advice to people is to explore your options and not just do what is conventional.
