Treatment of Gout, excruciating pain in the right knee, swelling and redness with acupuncture

Musculo-Skeletal

Chief Complaint: Gout attack, excruciating pain in the right knee, swelling and redness. Patient is not able to walk. She can’t stand even the lightest touch in the knee area. Chief complaint

History: knee started to be increasingly painful 3 days before first treatment. She had a similar, less severe attack 6 months ago.

Medical History: 68 year old female. Married 8 children. Poor health. Overweight. Fat in the abdominal area. Kidney energy: Wakes up to urinate 3 times a night. Constant and dull low back pain. Weak knees. Spleen energy: Good appetite. Heartburn a couple of times a week. Regular bowel movements.Tired after eating Pain in the hypochondria, Emotional/nervous system Worries a lot. Fearful. Sleeps on an off during the night. Heart palpitations once a month.

PULSE: Deep, weak, and slightly rapid.

TONGUE: Red, thin yellow coat, teeth marks.

LIFESTYLE:
Eats Mexican style food, including meats, fat, vegetables, cheese, sugar, coffee and spices.
Eats only twice a day.
Doesn’t drink water. Drinks juices and milk.
She is active in the house. Does not exercise.

WESTERN DIAGNOSIS:
Diagnosis of present complaint: Arthritis, osteoporosis. Possibly gout, but not confirmed.
Chronic: hypertension, arthritis, osteoporosis.

TCM DIAGNOSIS: blood stagnation.

TREATMENT: Treatment was aimed at dispersing blood and toxins from the knee, relieving inflammation and reducing swelling.

Acupuncture on the affected knee: st.35, sp10, 2 ashi points. 3-in. 32-gauge needles inserted deep.
St.35 bled when needle was withdrawn.
St. 36 bilateral to promote circulation of qi and blood.
PC 6 bilateral
Sp. 6 bilateral

DIETARY RESTRICTIONS:
According to my evaluation, the correct Western diagnosis is gout, therefore I advised her to avoid all foods containing purines in the following manner:
The following foods should be totally eliminated from her diet even after the attack:
Anchovies, broth, bouillon, liver, sardines, mussels, yeast (all kinds of breads, pizza, etc.), kidneys, brains, alcohol, gravies.
From the following foods eat only 3 ounces a day when the attack is over:
Fish, poultry, lentils, mushrooms, meat, spinach, seafood, cauliflower, dry peas, baking powder.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:
Drink lots of water.
Eat at regular intervals. Preferably 6 small meals a day.
Loosing weight, especially around the abdomen is very important. But weight loss should be gradual. Fasting or skipping meals not advisable.
Start a walking program after the attack is over.

Results:
The treatment was repeated for three consecutive days. Pain, redness and swelling of the knee were greatly reduced and patient was able to walk. After that, 1 treatment a week was applied. After 4 weeks pain, redness and inflammation disappeared and patient returned to normal activity.
Dietary recommendations were followed strictly.
After 7th treatment patient felt very good and was losing weight gradually.

The following treatments were aimed to improve kidney energy and strengthen nervous system. After 4 more treatments her sleep improved and she felt more confident.

Treatment to improve overall health is ongoing.

In cases of gout, it is very important to recommend the right diet together with TCM. I chose not to use herbs in this case. I consider this a very successful treatment.

Courtesy of:
Monica Campins, L.Ac.
Meridian Acupuncture
1551 Colorado Blvd. Suite #206
Los Angeles, CA 90041
cybermoni@earthlink.net

Last modified: September 6, 2009  Tags: ,  В·  Posted in: Metabolic, Musculo-Skeletal