Jump to content
ACN Latitudes Forums

8yo complains of transient pain behind knee - should we worry lyme?


Recommended Posts

My 8yo has complained of pain behind one or both knees that comes and goes for more than a year now. It does seem more likely to flare up when he's been working them harder in his martial arts class, but sometimes it does even when he's not doing anything. When it first hit, he was just about to belt test, and woke up that morning limping because the pain behind his right knee was so bad. He said when I touched it (I was going to lightly massage it), it hurt even more. Seemed sort of like a charley horse, but behind the knees rather than the calf, & it lasted hours. He has never had it that bad since & it seems to be slowly reducing in severity.

 

We took him to an orthopedist who took x-rays & examined his knees and found nothing. He said we could take him to a pediatric specialist in the medical center, but we decided after researching online & talking to several parents whose kids also experienced similar, inexplicable "growing pains" that the expense was probably not worth it since it seemed like he might be slowly outgrowing whatever it is & dr's don't really seem to know what causes it anyway.

 

Recently, he was selected for his martial arts school competition team & he is working out a lot more. He has begun complaining more often of the pain in the last few weeks. Ibuprofen does seem to help, but since our LLMD thinks we probably all have Lyme (we've only tested the 2 oldest kids who are currently being treated because we can't afford more), I am wondering if I should try giving him something herbal for Lyme to see if it will help, like maybe cat's claw, or am I more likely to mess things up if I start tinkering with things when we are not really able to get him properly treated yet?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was just diagnosed with Lyme. I get pains that move around, and one area it is recently starting to hit is my right knee. It starts with pain behind the knee, and then feels like a tight band running across the top of my knee, then finishes with a major swollen feeling, although it actually doesn't LOOK all that swollen. It's the strangest feeling - the only way I can describe it to my husband is it feels like I have an "elephants leg"! It feels really big and tight, and it always surprises me that it doesn't look as big as it feels!

 

Thermoimaging might be helpful if you are unable to find out more through a regular doc. It's not cheap, though.

http://www.indytherm.com/sportswork-injuries/

http://www.indytherm.com/case-studies/

 

Hope he is pain-free soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cat's claw is an immune stimulant and if you are dealing with lyme, overstimulation of the immune system can cause an increase in symptoms.

 

I tried cat's claw myself several years ago, when lyme had just entered my radar and I hadn't yet used any antimicrobial herbs to decrease load. The results were not good. After several days I developed arthritic-like pains in my elbows and knees, and my skin became very sensitive to touch (felt like I was being flicked with an elastic band and the sensation would linger).

 

On his website and in his more up to date books, Stephen Buhner recommends Japanese knotweed first and foremost as an anti-inflammatory and anti-spirochetal agent. It's a very good herb and we have been using it for several years now at the dosage of 1/4 tsp of powdered herb (1stChineseHerbs) infused as tea 3x daily, along with 1/4 tsp tincture (WoodLandEssence) 3x daily. We used this herb throughout abx treatment for lyme/bart.

 

To more gently support the immune system Buhner recommends cordyceps powder (1stChineseHerbs). We use 1/3 tsp of this infused in tea (the same cup with the knotweed) 3x daily.

Edited by rowingmom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...