Chronic Knee Pain Not Improving? MCL Injury Case Study | Acupuncture Auckland

Acupuncture Treatment for Chronic Knee Pain (MCL Injury) in Auckland

Many patients with knee pain are told to “rest and wait.”

But when pain lasts for months, it is no longer just an acute injury.

👉 Chronic knee pain often involves more than the ligament itself.

If the problem is not clearly identified, recovery can be slow or incomplete.

Clinical Insight

Medial knee pain is commonly related to the medial collateral ligament (MCL).

However, in chronic cases, we often see:

• local tissue sensitivity
• persistent inflammation patterns
• muscle tension affecting knee stability

👉 Treatment needs to address both the local structure and functional movement.

Case Study—Acupuncture for chronic knee pain by Teresa Shen

This patient presented with chronic medial knee pain following an MCL injury that occurred 6 months ago.

Initially, the pain was sharp, but over time it became a dull, persistent discomfort — a common pattern in chronic ligament injuries.

On examination:

• Pain was localized to the medial knee
• Palpation reproduced the symptoms
• Movement (especially squatting) caused discomfort

Treatment was performed by Teresa Shen using a combination of:

• local acupuncture points around the knee
• Ashi points (tender points)
• gentle functional assessment during treatment

The goal was to:

👉 reduce local tension
👉 improve tissue response
👉 restore functional movement

Immediately after treatment:

• The patient was able to squat without pain
• Walking felt significantly easier
• Overall knee function improved

👉 This immediate change indicates that the condition was still highly responsive to targeted treatment.

This case highlights that chronic knee pain is not always due to structural damage alone.

👉 In many cases, the issue is functional and reversible.

Patients often describe this stage of injury as:

• “not as painful as before, but never fully better”
• “always there when I move”

👉 This is exactly where targeted treatment can make a difference.

• incomplete recovery after injury
• lack of targeted treatment
• ignoring functional movement patterns
• treating symptoms but not mechanism

If your knee pain has not improved after months,
it may need a different approach.