This post was written by Matt Whitehead, Director of the Egoscue Portland. Clinic and is an excerpt from a blog post from Egoscue Nashville. The client xrays were provided to Egoscue Portland by Egoscue Austin clinic. Xrays of Degenerative Knee & Cartilage Damage - Before & After Posture Alignment using The Egoscue Method. When people hear “bone-on-bone” (knee, hip, wrist, ankle etc.) most people (including well-meaning doctors) think “it’s too late to do anything, time for a replacement.” This line of thinking comes from the idea that our bodies are like machines. “When your cars’ brakes are worn-out you need to replace the brake pads with new ones and then your car is back to normal.” There are two problems with this line of thinking: 1. We have yet to (and probably never will) “build” a replacement part that is close to and as good as the original part (but medical science will never stop trying) 2. Machines are dead and our bodies are living – meaning we are able to rebuild our own parts at the rate of 500+ billion new cells a day! When not replaced, the worn-out brake pad on your car will continue to wear away every day because the car does not have a means to repair/rebuild it on it’s own. But our bodies do! Our bodies are constantly repairing and rebuilding everything from our skin (we have all seen this happen after a cut or scrap) to our bones (observed in people who have healed a broken bone or raised their bone density) to muscle tissue, brain cells, nerve cells, cardic muscle, and even cartilage. The key to getting that “bone-on-bone” joint to repair itself is to make sure the reason why the joint was wearing away in the first place is corrected. That has to do with the postural position of the joint and the dysfunctional movement that has been happening. Correct that and the body will repair itself. John Elder of Egoscue Nashville talked about Pete Egoscue and cartilage in a recent blog post: When Pete released (his book) Pain Free back in the early 90s, he made the claim that you can regrow cartilage and took a LOT of heat for saying so. Everyone thought he was crazy and dismissed his theory. If you don’t have a copy of Pain Free, here is what he has to say on page 107: “As for the ‘irreversible’ cartilage loss, why of all the tissue in the body would the cartilage be the only one that does not regenerate? The answer is that it does regenerate. Laboratory experiments in Sweden have shown that under the right conditions cartilage, like any tissue, can be grown. Moreover, sports medicine practitioners have long recognized that athletes increase their cartilage density and shock-absorbing capacity during proper training.” Once again, he was crucified for this statement. In his own words from Pain Free for Women he says, “That statement drew a barrage of criticism from doctors, researchers, and physical therapists. When cartilage is gone, they scolded me, it’s gone, and nothing short of a miracle will bring it back.” Well, if it’s a miracle they want, then it’s a miracle they’ll get. Thanks to Rick Mathes in the Austin Clinic for providing these x-rays (read his full blog post about this client HERE). A client working with one of the therapists was told he had to have his knee replaced. Take a look at the first xray picture from April, 2004 and you’ll understand why the doc suggested it. To help explain what you’re looking at, it’s as if you are facing this client. His right knee is on your left. Notice that on the far left hand side of the image there is decreased space between the femur (upper leg bone) and the tibia (lower leg bone). Loss of cartilage, right? I agree. This guy is surely headed for a knee replacement...or is he? Take a look at the second set of x-rays from July, 2005, just a little over a year after the first were taken. Notice the uniform spacing between the femur and tibia. It’s a miracle! The cartilage is regrown! While I agree the cartilage is regrown, I don’t believe it necessarily qualifies as miraculous. Instead, I believe the client took charge of his health and put faith in his body that it can heal itself. What a remarkable difference, and all without going under the knife. When you switch from being symptom-focused (i.e. loss of cartilage and needing a knee replacement) to being cause-focused (i.e. why did the cartilage degenerate?), a lot can happen. Change the position of the knee joint, give the cartilage room to grow, and it will. I love that there is finally ‘proof’ that Pete was right all those years ago. The body is an engineering miracle. It’ll heal itself if you just give it an opportunity. Keep moving!
Renee Fossati
7/17/2013 12:13:23 am
I would like to know more on bone regeneration
Barry
12/19/2015 07:16:39 pm
I have been told I need knee replacement because of cartilage bone to bone 12/20/2015 08:05:18 am
Hi Barry, 1/24/2017 07:31:28 pm
My xrays show no cartilige in right knee.Just bone on bone.Dr.recomended knee joint replacement and I don't want to have it.Is there some way it can be made to regrow?my left knee is pretty bad also. 1/27/2017 07:06:01 am
Hi Lorraine, 1/29/2017 12:59:04 pm
I am doing some exercises and had synvisc injections dec.13 2016 .It helped.I guess I will get another in 6 months . 7/17/2013 04:21:56 am
Hi Renee, 4/26/2015 12:25:08 pm
Hi,
Ann Singletary
9/22/2015 06:31:00 am
9/22/2015 02:46:30 pm
Hi Ann,
Laurie Wiersma
6/17/2017 04:27:35 pm
You said that the pain could be gone in the first session. What do u do in that session that takes the pain away? What kind of dr. would i go to have that done on my knees? I was first told that i needed an ankle replacement from several Dr's. I then went to another one and was told that I needed both my ankles and my knees rebuilt. I couldn't believe it. He said that nothing could be done so he was telling me i was going to live in severe pain the rest of my life and that I would be pretty much bed. Im only 44-year-old and i will not live like this much longer. I used to be very active person i exercised for hrs a day until I twisted my ankle while walking my dog's in the field. That's when all the problems started. I had previously broke both ankles like15 years before this. Never had any problems until many yrs later. Now i was told the arthritis has now taken all the tissue away in both my ankles and knees. The pain is unbearable. Is there anything u can tell me to do to get my life back? I live in Wisconsin and there aren't any Dr's that I can find to help me. Im exercising at the ymca in the water. Will that help? Please respond back because I can't live like this anymore. Thank you
Troy Erwin
8/23/2013 01:36:53 pm
I had a medial menisectomy and medial collateral ligament repair on my left knee in 1972. I am now 65 and occasionally (a couple times a week) experience what I think is bone on bone contact (very sharp pain in my left knee). I frequently work out using weights to strengthen the quads and hamstring muscles in an effort to strengthen the muscles around the knee. Is this damage repairable without a knee replacement? What should I do next? 8/24/2013 06:10:27 am
Hi Troy, 8/24/2013 06:17:35 am
Troy, more on sending me photos:
John Price
12/9/2014 01:22:26 pm
please let me know where one can find this procedure?
Catee Ingwersen
12/10/2014 12:52:59 am
I strongly suggest seeking out a therapist with these credentials using a search engine like google. Search for these terms and include your city name and/or state:
diane mundt
3/26/2015 01:07:15 pm
I am interested in knowing what to do with bone on bone knees. Because I DO NOT want to go thru surgery I would rather have a natural way of healing ! THANKS Can you please help with this it would be greatly appreciated! 3/28/2015 02:28:14 am
Do you have pain?
diane mundt
3/30/2015 06:02:45 am
I live in Iowa! So can I do the exercises to strenghen the muscles. Will this help straighten my structure. I HAVE ARTHRITIS AND MY HIP BONES ON MY X-RAYS ARE NOT EVEN, ONE IS HIGHR THEN THE OTHER. The nearest Egoscue is 4 and half hours away or more ... Once aligned straight will the cartilage regrow in the knees??????? And yes I would like as much help as I can get because I do not believe surgery is the answer!!!!!
Tumay Sismanoglu
9/22/2015 01:10:05 pm
Hi Catee, 9/26/2015 06:34:44 pm
Hi Tumay
Mary
9/30/2015 10:54:56 pm
Hi Catee, 10/1/2015 03:01:30 pm
https://youtu.be/O5_D4LZKrvo
Krystal McCammon
7/26/2016 09:03:55 am
Hello,
Andrea Zeiner
1/2/2017 08:24:21 pm
That is upsetting the youtube video is no longer available due to a copyright claim.
Catee Ingwersen
1/3/2017 03:17:47 am
Hi Andrea,
RMM
1/10/2017 08:38:58 am
Hi Catee, after reading some comments and watching your video, I have to ask a specific question about my issues. 1/10/2017 07:00:18 pm
Hi Roger
Roger
1/12/2017 08:33:43 am
Thanks for getting back to me Cattee. I didn't get notified of your reply so this morning I had to find your site again and then found your response. I'll bookmark and check back daily.
Catee Ingwersen
1/13/2017 10:08:04 am
Hi Roger, when you leave comments on my website, you can provide your email address in the box beneath where you provide your name and be sure to click the box "Notify me of new comments to this post by email" beneath the Comments box you type in.
Roger
1/13/2017 02:21:03 pm
Thank you Cattee for your time and help. I'll look into those places and see what they can help with. 1/26/2017 01:03:47 am
Your article is superb and it most helpful. In my opinion such writing can be very much informative for many scholars.
Sue Stewart
1/29/2017 03:41:37 pm
Hi Catee, 1/29/2017 06:51:05 pm
Hi Sue,
John
3/13/2017 08:19:55 pm
Hi great site and information im 25 have really bad knees from running on the treadmill last couple of years and a noise in my hips went ive been sat down for a period of time, done some research so i have gone vegan fruit juice mainly try get alot of nutrition ,also been doing some knee exericse where u put weights on the ankles and dangle your feet, so to help regenerate the cartilage i would be best going to get an xray then see Egoscue near my area, to allingn them ano it will take a year or more but im fine with that im a believer in what our body can do, thanks hope to hear from you soon.
John
3/19/2017 07:14:24 pm
Could you reply please? 3/19/2017 07:26:40 pm
John
John
3/20/2017 07:57:08 pm
Thanks for the reply Catee Ok so you recommend i go to a posture alignment therapist, should i go get xrays first to see how they are or go straight to the therapist as they proberly will do xrays also if i go for along time getting the right alignment should help rebuild the cartilage and its giving more space to rebuild if im correct, thanks any more info would be great love to learn more thank you catee 3/22/2017 11:03:35 am
https://youtu.be/O5_D4LZKrvo
John
4/1/2017 06:46:53 pm
Hi catee about the knee would having the same therapy be able to help hips shoudler elbows thanks
john
4/2/2017 06:50:08 pm
Great thank you do you have any other way of contact incase i need to ask you more questions thanks. dont want to spam your great article
John
3/23/2017 06:01:23 pm
thanks ill give it a watch 4/18/2017 04:39:20 am
please let me know where one can find this procedure? 4/18/2017 10:54:55 am
Google "Certified Egoscue University" plus your town, state or country and tell me if you find someone. There are not a lot of us out there. You may have to do Skype sessions which we do and many other therapists like us do too.
lizzy
4/21/2017 07:40:51 pm
Hello catee, 6/18/2017 06:48:50 am
Laurie W submitted this question: 7/13/2017 10:19:35 am
Great information on your site here. I love this post because we can get some useful information from your blog. I expect more post from you guys. 7/13/2017 11:40:42 am
Nice Site really Your work is really great and too useful. I enjoyed visiting your site. You have done a truly excellent Job. 10/2/2017 05:10:49 am
Many thanks for getting enough time to discuss this, They have been a giant help for us. Thanks a whole lot. 10/2/2017 05:51:32 am
This post is fantastic, Great to visit here, Excellent work this is.
Grace
10/20/2017 06:20:42 am
Can anyone help me? I am 34 yrs old. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis during the year 2005. My quadriceps muscles are wasted. During the year 2014, I fell down from the boat and got injured my arthritic right knee. I had undergone knee surgery for two times. One was during 2014 after the fall and was placed a plate and another was during 2015 (meniscal repair was done and the plate was removed) and again they suggesting me for surgery. Doctor told cartilage in my knee has been degenerated and there is no chance of regeneration of cartilage. He advised me to take steriod injections, or growth hormone injection or go in for surgery without giving me any hope. I am suffering from severe pain since 2014, feeling the even when i am sitting. In all postures i am suffreing the pain. My right leg is not straight now. Please suggest me what can be done. Is there any chance to get rid of this pain and regrowth of cartilage. 10/20/2017 10:21:49 am
Hi Grace, Comments are closed.
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AuthorCatee Ingwersen is an Egoscue certified Posture Alignment Specialist and Licensed Massage Therapist. Archives
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