How Your Knee Can Be Cursed By The Occult

Although I was diagnosed with arthritis in my left wrist about 15 years ago, it was a while later that my knees started to buckle for no apparent reason. Nothing was done about it at the time, and as a result, I believe that’s what has left them with arthritis nowadays. To minimise the risk of that happening, and the needless pain that accompanies it, I thought you might want to have a look at the following article by Dr. Bill Stillwell, of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center.

“When you hear the word "occult," it may summon visions of a voodoo priestess muttering incantations and sticking a doll with pins. And if you sometimes get a mysterious, sudden, stabbing pain in your knee, you may wonder if there's a connection... if you're the victim of some sort of curse.

Well, your knee may be "cursed" by an occult injury. But it has nothing to do with the supernatural. "Occult" is from the Latin for "hidden." And, medically speaking, an occult injury is one without an apparent cause. When it comes to the knee, this most often means a torn meniscus, which can occur without a specific injury.

Most often, meniscal injury is suggested by swelling and effusion (water on the knee)... joint pain (though some are painless)... snapping or popping of the knee... instability of the knee (buckling or giving way)... and, occasionally, locking of the joint in flexion. But these symptoms may be lacking.

The meniscus is a crescent-shaped cartilage structure that lies between the top of the shinbone (tibia) and the curved end of the thigh bone (femur) inside the knee. ("Meniscus" means "moon" in Greek.) There are two menisci, one on each side of the joint. They act to disperse weight-bearing forces, to cushion shocks, and to guide the knee, especially when you're changing direction, pivoting, or twisting.

A sudden, exaggerated movement can tear the meniscus, and that's usually the way it happens. But some people develop a tear without any preceding trauma - simply as a result of the degeneration of the cartilage that occurs with aging. The center of the tissue breaks down and becomes soft and jelly-like. Eventually, the jelly breaks through the outer surface, the disruption extends, and a tear is born.

Menisci have a really bad blood supply. Once they're torn, they don't readily heal. And for that reason, most of these injuries require arthroscopic surgery, either to repair the tear or remove it. So if you suspect this is the source of your discomfort, see an orthopaedist. Ignored, it will continue to cause problems. And it can eventually lead to arthritis.”

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