QuestionFirst off, Thank You for being a leader to all us raw paleo health seekers. My question is....I have extreme pain in my right knee and I will not go for an x-ray or go to a doctor who just wants me to swallow meds he will prescribe for the pain . I am pretty sure there is no muscle in the front of my knee and it is made of cartilage, ligaments and tendons. I eat a 100% raw paleo diet and wanted to know if you had any advice on what to do. Should I increase my fats, take MSM, and do you think it will repair on it's own??? What can I do for the pain?? It's killing me for a week?? I think I over did it working out. Your advice will be greatly appreciated.
AnswerI have to admit that I'm also very wary of doctors, for various reasons. That said, I do think they're a necessary option in the case of very severe pain or injury. I mean, a raw, palaeolithic diet will generally speed up the rate of healing in the case of damaged muscles, but potentially serious damage to tendons or ligaments, is a serious matter that really does require assistance from a doctor. Obviously, if the doctor, after examining you, feels it's only necessary to offer a prescription for various painkilling drugs, then you can just go down a different route.
It may be that the pain is only temporary, so you might try resting in bed for a few more days - certainly, if it lasts more than another week, a visit to the doctor might well be a good idea, just in case. In my own case, it recently took a couple of weeks to completely heal an extremely painful pinched nerve on my left shoulder and a very badly sprained ankle I'd incurred around the same time. As I'm only in my 30s, I figured I could easily avoid visiting the doctor as long as I avoided all sport or major activity, but I have to admit that if I'd been 15 years older,I'd have probably decided on an initial checkup with a doctor.
The MSM idea seems to be quite popular as a pain-relief remedy, and extra fats would certainly be very useful as EFAs are known to reduce inflammation. I highly recommend raw bone-marrow, in this regard.
I'm a bit of a sceptic as regards herbal remedies, but I understand that ginger, cayenne-pepper and white willow bark are viewed as common pain-relievers.
If you still have real trouble sleeping because of the pain, despite the MSM etc., you might consider using valerian extract or melatonin pills, as a temporary measure. I used the latter two in my pre-raw diet days when I had very bad pain and acute insomnia - they're not exactly natural remedies, and are definitely a bad idea to take for long periods, but they'll solve the problem during your time of healing.
RPG
Geoff
