Knee Pain Treatment in Greenville, SC
Knee pain treatment in Greenville, SC using acupuncture and integrative medicine. Dr. Hendry helps with arthritis, meniscus injuries, and chronic knee pain. Call (864) 365-6156.
What Is Knee Pain?
Knee pain is among the most common musculoskeletal complaints in adults of all ages, affecting runners and athletes, office workers, and older adults dealing with degenerative changes. The knee is a complex joint that bears the body's full weight with every step, making it particularly vulnerable to both acute injury and cumulative wear. Integrative treatment addresses not only the joint itself but the biomechanical and systemic factors that predispose the knee to pain.
Common Symptoms
Root Causes: A Functional Medicine Perspective
Knee pain arises from a spectrum of causes: ligament or meniscus injury, cartilage degeneration (osteoarthritis), patellar tracking problems, bursitis, or tendinitis. Underlying all of these is the question of why the joint's natural repair mechanisms are not keeping pace with the damage — and this is where functional medicine adds tremendous value.
Chronic systemic inflammation (driven by diet, gut dysbiosis, or autoimmune activity) accelerates cartilage breakdown and suppresses joint healing. Excess body weight increases joint load dramatically — every pound of body weight translates to roughly four pounds of force on the knee during walking. Hormonal imbalances, particularly declining estrogen in women, reduce cartilage integrity and joint lubrication. Weak hip abductors and gluteal muscles allow the knee to collapse inward (valgus), placing abnormal stress on the medial compartment and the patellofemoral joint. Dr. Hendry's assessment identifies which of these factors is driving your knee pain.
How We Treat Knee Pain at IHP
Acupuncture for knee pain has strong clinical evidence, with multiple randomized trials showing significant improvement in osteoarthritic knee pain compared to sham and usual care. Needle placement around the knee joint reduces synovial inflammation, promotes the production of hyaluronic acid (the joint's natural lubricant), and modulates the central pain signals that cause the knee to feel painful even at rest.
For meniscus or ligament injuries, acupuncture combined with cupping enhances local circulation and tissue healing. Trigger point dry needling into the quadriceps, iliotibial band, and hamstrings relieves the muscle-generated pain and joint compression that perpetuates knee dysfunction. Where systemic inflammation is identified, Dr. Hendry's functional medicine protocols — dietary changes, targeted supplementation, and gut healing — work in tandem to slow joint degeneration and support lasting recovery.
Dr. Hendry's Approach
Dr. Hendry takes a biomechanical approach to knee pain, assessing not just the knee but the hip, ankle, and foot to understand how alignment and muscle imbalances up and down the kinetic chain contribute to knee stress. His treatment integrates both symptom relief through acupuncture and dry needling, and root-cause correction through movement guidance and functional medicine evaluation.