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Nothing stops me dead in my tracks faster than knee pain. I have suffered with knee pain since hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail and not stopping to deal with the accumulation of pain. My pain management was poor as was my dedication to the fact that I must be healthy since I am hiking daily. Repetitive injuries, not solely limited to computer users, over developed my hiking muscles to the detriment of my supporting muscles. Coming off my long hike, I was diagnosed with Patellofemoral Syndrome. What, you say? That's exactly what I said. Until I discovered this little book.
This book is chock full of information and resources for dealing with knee pain. My knees have, over time, gradually improved but they are still not back to what I consider normal. Reading through this book, I realized that I made many mistakes in my "self treatment" by actually doing nothing. Movement, any movement is better than sitting still.
This book is broken down into useful chapter divisions. Aside from the introduction, the most immediately useful sections are the anatomy of the knee, which helps point out the major muscles and connections to the knee, and the common injuries chapter. Anatomy of the knee is very well done with slightly cartoonish drawings that are clear and well labeled. Each section of the knee is well written and while it abounds with technical names, it is relatively easy to follow especially with the help of the pictures. The next chapter on common injuries follows naturally along after the anatomy chapter. This is the chapter that greatly interested me initially, although I knew what I had, I didn't know what it meant. Having a doctor tell me what I had hadn't helped me, so my knee pain had a name, what doesn't. But reading more about what typically causes my type of knee pain and treatment techniques I could look into made me feel better about coming to grips with the pain and the possibility of healing it. This book isn''t meant to be a stand along treatment regime, rather it is to inform the reader of options to talk about with trained medical practitioners. Feeling informed about my knees and how they worked, also empowered me to ask informative and useful questions.
The book moves on into further chapters describing each technique named, what it is, and how it can be helpful. There is also a section just on simple stretches to get the body moving. While I was familiar with many of the listed techniques, who hasn't heard of Yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates, I wasn't familiar with the Alexander Technique or the Feldenkrais Method. It was interesting to learn about more alternatives and how they can work to balance each other in the healing process. The body isn''t one part, but many parts making a whole. It makes sense to combine various techniques to heal the whole.Other then describing what a particular technique is, the authors also go into how to find someone versed in each method, as well as what to look for. It is important to work with someone capable of dealing with knee pain and injuries in order to start the healing process. This book gives a series of exercises to use to help strengthen the muscles and loosen the area surrounding the knee for better mobility. These exercises can easily be incorporated into an exercise and stretching regime of already active people. They can be used preventatively as well as post-injury.
The book delves into mental techniques to use to prepare for surgery or how therapeutic meditation can be a helpful pain reliever. Bodyworks, a chapter on hands-on techniques of therapy describes various methods for dealing with pain or correcting posture related pain. Again, the authors go further into each technique, describing how they work and how to choose a practitioner suitable to working with active people. The book moves into herbs and dietary supplements capable of giving the body and knees proper fuel to ensure healthy and healing joints.
The last chapter deals with traditional treatments and surgeries. Following the same pattern, each surgery discusses options, what to look for in a surgeon and what to ask. The chapter also discusses non-surgical interventions such as medications and injections. Each technique is well described in how it performs or what to expect.
Not every knee is the same nor is every knee healed the same way. This book does a great job of not only describing alternative therapies, but of also describing traditional therapies. Each author brings with them a different background that works well is giving a very holistic approach to healing knees. The book is easy to read and each chapter flows well into the next chapter. I found that while there was an easy progression in chapters, it was also easy to skip ahead to read methods or techniques referred to in earlier chapters. Reading about common injuries, I didn't feel I had to read the entire chapter once I found my particular aliment.
The Healthy Knees Book: A guide to whole healing for outdoor enthusiasts and other active people
| Authors | Astrid Pujari, M.D. & Nancy Schatz Alton |
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| ISBN | 978-1-59485-013-4 |
| Price | $14.95 |
| Genre | Sports/Health |
| Links | Healthy Knees Book on Amazon  Healthy Knees Book on Barnes&Noble |
| Pages | 192 |
| Back of book writeup | Whether your sore knees stem from alpine skiing, running on pavement, or other wear-and-tear, caring for this complex joint is important. The Healthy Knees Book examines how your knees function, the most common knee injuries, and the chronic pain problems that can arise. It then offers a "whole body" approach to balance and healing - with information and tips from medical specialists, physical therapists, yoga, and fitness instructors, bodywork practitioners, and herbalists - providing varied and simple solutions for active individuals.
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This story was originally posted May 14, 2011.
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