People of all ages, from young children to adults, can experience knee problems, and their effects can extend beyond the physical realm. While many treat knee problems only from a medical perspective, there is a growing body of knowledge that looks at the role our emotions and mental health play in these conditions. Examining knee issues from a psychosomatic perspective can help shed light on the relationship between the mind and body.
The knee is a crucial joint that experiences a lot of strain from infancy to maturity. While adults may experience knee problems from overuse, accidents, or age-related wear and tear, children may experience problems from growing pains or injuries. Psychosomatic factors, such as stress, anxiety, and emotional conflicts, can impact the manifestation and experience of these issues in addition to their physical causes.
This article will discuss how emotional and mental health may provide additional pathways to recovery and alleviation, as well as how psychosomatic factors may contribute to knee problems. We hope to offer a more comprehensive understanding of knee health that will be advantageous to both kids and adults by looking at both the physical and emotional aspects.
Aspect | Description |
Emotional Stress | Emotional stress can manifest physically in the knees, often reflecting unresolved psychological conflicts or anxieties. |
Family Dynamics | Family issues or conflicts might contribute to knee problems, where the knees symbolize support or instability in family relationships. |
Perceived Support | Knee pain might be linked to feelings of lacking support or security, both emotionally and physically, impacting one"s stability and confidence. |
Traumatic Experiences | Past traumatic events or stressors can contribute to knee problems, with the knees representing the ability to move forward or handle challenges. |
Children vs. Adults | While both children and adults may experience psychosomatic knee issues, children often reflect family dynamics more directly, whereas adults might have more complex emotional and psychological layers influencing their condition. |
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- Psychosomatic causes
- Diseases – deep causes
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Knee from a medical point of view
A solid understanding of the functioning of the knee joint is necessary to comprehend why knees ache, swell, or sustain injuries frequently. This joint is one of the body’s largest and falls under the complex joint category. It joins the patella (cup) and the femur and tibia. A person’s lower limbs would not be able to provide cushioning when running or walking without the knee joint, which would severely limit his range of motion even if he could stand.
Although there are differences amongst knee joint diseases, they all share a similar set of symptoms: pain, a "click" in the knees, a distinctive crunch sound during walking, restricted movement, and possible development of knee swelling.
The two most prevalent knee conditions are inflammatory ones, such as bursitis and arthritis. Medical statistics do not rank dystrophic changes—such as arthrosis, osteoarthrosis, and tendopathy—last. Injuries such as bruises, fractures, dislocations, etc. can also result in a variety of disorders related to the joint’s functionality. We refer to these disorders as post-traumatic.
In the medical community, overuse of the knee joint and injuries are traditionally cited as the causes of problems. By the way, sports account for the great majority of knee injuries. Increased weight, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle cause dystrophic alterations and inflammation. Diseases of the feet or spine can cause abnormal load distribution and excessive pressure on the knee joint, which is often the cause of knees "failing."
Physicians frequently claim that vascular and muscle spasms cause knee pain. Pain that is psychosomatic can also occur.
Psychosomatic causes
From the perspective of psychosomatics, a branch of medicine that examines the mental and psychological aspects of human illnesses, knees allow us to be able to move forward in addition to standing. This indicates that a person has the chance to move toward his future and into tomorrow because of the joint.
A person may generally interpret pain in the knee or immediately below the knees as internal obstacles preventing him from progressing in his life.
One hindrance could be harmful beliefs or behaviors that impact the nervous system’s condition. For instance, someone wishes to switch careers. Finally, a great option presents itself, but mindsets such as "New is always scary" and "Better a bird in the hand than two in the bush" start to make him question whether it is really worth sacrificing what he currently has for an uncertain future.
A person’s doubts eventually develop into an internal conflict wherein the conscious mind obstinately keeps repeating that "a bird in the hand is better than another," while the subconscious part of the person yells at him that it is time to move forward and change his life. There’s a ban, but you have to relocate. Knee issues arise as a result of distortions in the nerve impulses coming from the cerebral cortex.
The symptoms, which include pain, swelling in the knee, and restricted movement, become more noticeable the more internal contradictions there are. The lower extremities’ muscles and blood vessels become more toned if nothing changes at this point, which raises the ligaments supporting the joints in tension. One runs the risk of getting hurt as a result, which could include a ligament rupture or a bruise.
Sports injuries are easiest to identify trends in because, as the Ministry of Health states, they are the most common.
Athletes "get stuck" on a particular plateau. Although he has made progress, there is still more for him to do. The objective is also clear; it might be to move on to a more competitive level of play or to pursue other interests outside of sports. However, this fear prevents you from moving forward decisively because you fear losing what you already have. Because of this, a seasoned athlete who has performed a particular exercise a hundred times and is familiar with the technique can suddenly develop a knee injury.
The forced necessity to go somewhere the person absolutely does not want to go is another frequent cause. For instance, you may not want to go to an unpleasant job but are forced to, or you may not want to travel for work but are forced to by circumstances or your superiors.
In this instance, an unconscious program that establishes the most favorable environment for a person to live in is started. It takes his refusal to go anyplace or in any direction as command; consequently, it makes adjustments that prevent him from moving and shield him from unfavorable outcomes. The person gets hurt, and the knee starts to hurt.
Such "things" of the subconscious frequently result in very specific physical changes that can be observed and measured in a lab. When it comes to knees, the tone of the muscles and ligaments increases, the blood supply deteriorates, and the hormones alter the amount of synovial fluid produced. Without these, the knee joint’s ability to function normally is disrupted, making it more fragile and wearing out more quickly.
According to physician-psychotherapist Valery Sinelnikov, joint problems—especially those involving the knees—indicate that a person is prone to aggressive emotions like rage and irritation.
They will undoubtedly "lay down" inside the joints if you do not release them or guide them in a constructive direction as they build up.
When examining knee issues in adults and children from a psychosomatic standpoint, it’s critical to comprehend how psychological and emotional aspects can impact physical parameters. This article will explore the complex relationship between the mind and body and how stress, anxiety, and unresolved emotional issues may aggravate knee pain and discomfort. Through a holistic approach that takes into account both physical and emotional well-being, we can better understand and potentially alleviate knee problems by addressing these psychosomatic links.
Diseases – deep causes
An inflammatory process in the knee joint is called arthritis. Psychosomatics asserts that it can only happen in the context of violent experiences. Inflammation will never arise if someone merely refuses to go to a humiliating job but dutifully endures it out of a sense of doom and without malice.
Other issues with swelling and "clicks" will arise, but arthritis and its intense, stabbing pain won’t be the topic of discussion.
A truly painful inflammatory process only arises when the urge to move forward or the fear of moving forward and the future generates rage, irritation, and anger. This process not only restricts movement but also raises the body temperature and worsens the condition overall.
Degenerative alterations, like joint arthrosis, are typically associated with aging as well as the previously mentioned "submissive and humble" group, who are unhappy with the path that has been chosen or thrust upon them.
They are simply hopeless—that is, they don’t believe that anything good is coming that will make them happy—rather than malicious. When asked about the future, an elderly patient suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee joints will typically respond, "For him, everything is already in the past, and ahead is just a cemetery." This is about how people who are quite young or middle-aged and who humbly go with the flow, dislike their jobs and lack ambition, think clearly, and communicate behave. Indeed, they are also ambling effortlessly in the direction of the graveyard. knees collapsing.
According to researcher Liz Burbo, a person’s knee curvature alone can be a sign that they lack directness and sincerity and are unable to move toward their objective.
The right knee typically bothers people who have a negative attitude toward work and men (applicable to women with arthrosis), while the left knee more symbolises the outside world. Based on long-term observations of psychoanalysts of a group of people with destructive changes in the structure of their knee joints, it is necessary to look for the cause of the obstacles in movement that have arisen before a person, not even in him, but in how his loved ones interact with him, what they incline and force him to do against his will.
Frequently, the left knee is the first to suffer in men who live with domineering wives and are compelled to do as they are told, not what they think is necessary but what matters to their spouse.
Bursitis is an inflammatory disease that frequently results from aggressive pride and stubbornness, from the inability to "bow" or "bend the knee" in response to someone’s accomplishments or point of view, to blind faith in one’s own supreme rightness.
Psychosomatic researcher Louise Hay has identified the primary cause of knee problems as being inflexibility—the unwillingness to alter one’s course in response to changing circumstances.
In fact, this description often fits the psychological profile of an individual with knee diseases. Despite his outward appearance of modernity and sufficiency, he harbors antiquated beliefs and will actively resist change, even to the point of violence.
People who are power-hungry are prone to gout. It is stated that there is no reason to doubt the historical veracity of the claims that numerous kings of medieval Europe and the USSR suffered from gout.
The current power is running out, and you want more, but there’s nowhere else to turn. As a result, an internal conflict develops, impeding flexibility and the joints that move you forward.
More than just physical factors can affect knee problems in children and adults; psychosomatic factors frequently play a major role. Knee discomfort or pain can be a physical symptom of psychological strain, unresolved conflicts, and emotional stress. Knowing this link can make it easier to treat the underlying causes of knee problems as opposed to just their symptoms.
Understanding the psychosomatic connection allows us to take a more comprehensive approach to treatment. In addition to physical therapy, addressing emotional well-being may offer a more complete solution, enhancing general health and quality of life. In order to better manage and prevent knee problems, it is crucial for both adults and children to be aware of their emotional states and to seek help when necessary.
In conclusion, taking into account the psychosomatic components of knee issues creates new opportunities for prevention and treatment. Recognizing the interaction between the mind and body promotes a more comprehensive approach to care, providing hope for longer-lasting and more efficient relief from knee problems.