Dr. Mercola April 12 2008 31,416 views
Arthroscopic knee surgery is one of the most unnecessary and useless surgeries out there. It works no better than a placebo surgery, and the proof of this was published in one of the most well-respected medical journals on the planet.
Despite this monumental finding, and numerous studies like the one above, 650,000 people in the United States undergo arthroscopic knee surgery every year. And with a cost of about $5,000 per procedure, that adds up to over $3 billion every year spent on a needless and non beneficial surgery.
What is Osteoarthritis?
Often, what prompts people to receive arthroscopic surgery is osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease in which the cartilage that covers the ends of the bones in your joint deteriorates, causing bone to rub against bone, and leading to pain and loss of movement.
This is the most common form of arthritis in the United States, and usually occurs in the older age group. It is more frequent in women than in men. The disease results from structural changes in the articular cartilage in the joints, usually those that are weight-bearing such as your spine and knees.
Potential contributing factors to this condition include:
Natural Options for Treating Osteoarthritis
Surgery is the absolute LAST option to consider if you’re feeling pain and stiffness in your joints due to osteoarthritis. Again, please carefully review the major study that found arthroscopic surgery to work no better than placebo.
The patients truly believed that this expensive, invasive procedure would fix their problem, and superficially it appeared to do just that. But the same thing happened with those who received the placebo -- a placebo unknown to them, of course.
What really healed their bodies were their own minds.
This is amazing testimony to the power your brain has at inducing healing changes in your body. Remember that whatever you focus your conscious attention on in the real world will typically be achieved. That is precisely what happened with this study.
So here you have a real world study, published in a respected journal, providing the theoretical underpinnings of why the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), and the principles of The New Biology, work. So in dealing with pain, don’t underestimate the power of your mind -- check out my EFT page to find out how you can begin to harness its power.
Also, for a good look at how EFT can help arthritis see 22 Years of Pain from Degenerative Arthritis Gone after Persistent EFT.
And, to help with the structural issues that can contribute to osteoarthritis, here are my top recommendations:
Four years ago I damaged a cartilage in my right knee. After several months of limping around, unable to run at all and trying glucosamine, ultrasound, etc I opted for arthroscopic surgery. For two days after the surgery the pain, even with pain killers, was horrendous. Soon though my knee felt as good as ever. Now I can walk for hours at a time and even run again and haven't had a twinge in the knee for over 3 years. Admittedly I didn't have any arthritis, just a torn cartilage.
Regarding the blood clots mentioned in another post, here in Australia the surgeon is required by law to warn you of any possible complications, and the odds of them, before the operation commences.
I think there is definitely a place for surgery to repair something like a torn cartilage if there is no way it can heal properly on its own. I have had "bum knees" since my teens (they misalign when I kneel) but rather than tamper with them I just don't kneel without a soft pillow. I wouldn't dream of lifting things from bended knee position. (My son may have inherited the knee problem, as he had to use pillows to kneel at the altar when he got married!) I know many women who have had knee surgery and a surprising lot of them are suffering from endless infections as a result. Overweight seems a strong factor in knee pain developing.
See - I tried to post on the last message board about not all drugs being aweful, but it wasn't allowed. Here's a good example - Some surgeries do help - they are not all unnecessary, with results that create other problems. Certainly, I would research and avoid any surgery if at all possible, particularly if something natural would work. I broke my leg last year and the surgeons first reaction was to put a rod in my leg. Fortunately my husband was lucid enough (I was under the influence of heavy meds) to ask a few good questions and determined the breaks were clean and could be easy to set easily (non-invasively). The surgeon was not pleased with his (my husband's) choice, but did as requested. I have little problems, no rod in my leg and no second surgery pending to remove a rod....
Qualitygeek, some insurance companies do offer discounts for those with gym memberships, or taking other steps to a healthier lifestyle. At least, here in Europe - not in the US?
Lifestyle changes may take more time, effort, and research to get it right, but the end result is still cheaper for you and society as a whole than drugs and surgery. Just think how much cheaper health insurance premiums would be if people made preventative lifestlye changes.
This makes me think of a mother I'm familiar with who has a young, obese child. She insists on feeding this prematurely developed girl milk, milk, cheese, milk and meat. There are no salads, no fresh fruits, very little vegetables. THere is the laughable whole-wheat wrappers to encase the chunks of meat in. Now she is babbling about how her poor little lamb needs surgery on her arthritic knees. I would give my right eye to be able to punch this abusive woman in the head. She obviously relishes the attention she gets from whining. Proper fresh diet first, and exercise. I guess that it just too hard to deal with. As far as expense goes, she has the money for a fanatical religous school, so she can trot out to buy this kid proper food.
I'm with you Alexis - but you have to let go - when the student is ready the teacher will come. While it's difficult to watch, it is the law of allowing. At some point this mother and child will be ready to understand. It can be muchmore difficult when you watch it happen within your own family - those that you are very closely involved with......