Healing my Dislocated Knee

where it happened!

Lying in the snow with my kneecap dislocated, being unable to get it back into place, my mind was whirring with thoughts of doctors, x-rays, crutches, hospitals, insurance companies & many weeks of physiotherapy and recovery.  I made the decision right then to attempt to heal this without western medicine.  Within 5 minutes my wonderful boyfriend had pulled my leg enough (not metaphorically speaking) and the kneecap was back to its original place.  

I’d like to put a little caveat here.  This is me sharing my personal experience of handling a dislocation.  I am in no way recommending that others should follow such steps.  My only suggestion is that we each listen to our own body and act in accordance with what is best for us.  I present this as my true experience of using energy work to heal a physical ailment.  That all said, i hope you’ll find something interesting to assist you in your healing journey – be well!

What did i do during the dislocation?

1.     Became aware of my breathing & slowed it down. 

Breathing through my mouth and reminding myself that freaking out about things never helps.

2.     I used E.F.T./ Tapping

Tapped on my cheekbone point (the only one i could easily reach based on how i was positioned).  My statement was something like “Even though my knee is dislocated, it’s okay for me to relax.  Even though i’m freaked out and really scared, i choose to trust that things are going to be okay.”

3.     I asked for Reiki energy to flow through me. 

This also involved praying for the angels and guides to be with me & to help the process.

Quick List
Here's a quick list of healing modalities i used...scroll down to read about which ones interest you in more detail:

• Watching the thoughts / awareness of shock
• Bach flower essence - Rescue Remedy
• Listening to my body (and how to do that)
• Tarot
• E.F.T. / Tapping
• Affirmations
• Reiki
• Flower of Life
• Crystals & Gemstones
• Talking to Like-Minded Friends
• Putting the pieces together
• Natural Anti-inflammatory Foods
• Elasticated Knee Support
• Rest and Relaxation
• Physiotherapy / Exercises
• Walking Meditation

Healing Modalities Used

Watching the Thoughts

i became aware that i was in shock, that i was utterly overwhelmed with emotions.  Realising this helped calm me down and to accept the myriad of thoughts and emotions, without reacting to them.

Bach Flower Essences

I immediately took some drops of Bach Flower Essences ‘Rescue Remedy’ which is great for people in shock & high stress {link}.

Listening to My Body

I decided that this whole experience of dislocating my knee would be an exercise in listening to my body.

It saddens me how much control over our bodies we hand over to doctors.  I truly value many doctors & believe they do many wonderful things to help us heal.  However, it seems like we’ve been brought up believing that they know our bodies better than we do.  That they know what’s best for us.  I wanted to readdress this balance and see if i could listen to my body’s inherent wisdom.

Consider how many things our bodies do without our awareness.  Our bodies naturally want for us to be healthy.  They want to help us heal.  I knew that if i listened to my body it would guide me & whisper to me the things it needed for recovery.

How to ‘listen to my body’?

‘Listening to my body’ means tuning inside to hear/feel/see whether something i wanted to try was a ‘yes’ ‘no’ or ‘maybe’.  One exercise you can try to learn what your ‘yes’/’no’ feels like: 

1.     Close your eyes, relax and let your focus go to the area around your heart. 

2.     Ask yourself “was my name at birth…[state your birth name]?”

3.     Tune into the reaction in your body.  This is a ‘YES’.  It often feels like an opening, expansive feeling in your chest, others may ‘hear’ something more affirmative and some may ‘see’ an image which lets them know it’s YES – everyone experiences it differently.

4.     Ask yourself “Was my name at birth Reginald Morris Clark?” [unless that’s your name!]

5.     Tune into the reaction in your body.  This is a ‘No’.

You can try this with a series of questions of which you’re sure of the answer, parent’s names, place of birth, name of school.  When it’s clear to you how you’re yes & no presents itself to you, you can ask questions about how best to heal yourself.

Tarot

I love the Osho Zen Tarot deck {available online here}. i asked

1. “What is the purpose of this injury/what will it teach me?” 
2. “How can i heal this injury?”
3. “What is the outcome?”

i then interpreted the cards & as they were incredibly positive and encouraging, i left them on my alter to remind me of their message.

E.F.T. (Emotional Freedom Techniques)

This was one of the major ways i cut through the trauma of what had happened.  I’m an avid E.F.T. Practitioner & it’s one of my primary healing modalities.  I’ve been using it for some years now & i give private sessions, circles & workshops.  Still, i’d never tapped on a physical trauma in my own body. 

i've detailed the whole process of what i specifically said as i tapped.  You can read about it {here}.

Affirmations
Some of the positive statements/affirmations which i tapped in (see E.F.T. above):

It’s possible for me to heal my knee.

I’m grateful for receiving support from others.

I am proud of my commitment to healing myself.

I am grateful for this opportunity to listen to my body

I am excited to use my healing tools in a new way.

I know how to take care of myself.

I care for my well being.

I am strong.

I heal quickly.

I choose to believe that my knee will have a full and complete recovery. 

It’s possible for my knee to be even stronger after this experience.

The healing of my knee can happen at a quantum light speed, as i’m using quantum light speed tools!

I am curious to discover what lovely surprises the Universe has in store for me & how it will help & support my recovery. 

Reiki

Reiki is, for me, completely indescribable.  To have pure, universal love flowing through one’s hands.  It is a high vibration healer.  As a Reiki Master (of the Usui lineage), i have practised a lot of Reiki and it was exciting to use it on one of my own physical issues.

I asked for Reiki energy to flow through me, with the help of my angels, guides, spirits and all the masters who’ve gone before.  i put my hands on either side of my left knee & allowed the healing to take place.

Straight after the dislocation, I used Reiki in conjunction with E.F.T.  Sometimes the tapping would get too intense and i would need a break, so i would chanel Reiki for the specific issue, then after about 5-15 minutes return to the E.F.T. practice.

In the days following the dislocation, i used more Reiki and less E.F.T.  It seemed like I had tapped through all of the trauma and fears around being able to heal myself.  Thus I would sit with crystals & flower of life and ask for Reiki to flow (see below).

Flower of Life

The flower of life is an incredible piece of sacred geometry.  I absolutely adore this symbol and see it as a representation of a healthy cell.  I placed an image of the flower of life under my knee and instructed each of my cells to replicate this image within them.  I imagined the flower of life symbol being the pattern of each cell around my knee.

I combined this visualisation with Reiki (see above).

You can read more about the flower of life {here}.

Crystals & Gemstones

I respect crystals and gemstones as natural healers on our beloved planet.  A few years ago i would have considered this crazy, but i’ve had way too many healing experiences & connections to crystals to doubt them! 

I used a very special apophyllite crystal on top of my knee, with a flower of life symbol below my knee.  I did this mostly as i channeled Reiki.  However, at other times, i just let them hang out there, as i did something else.

I also used rose quartz for compassion & gentleness, kyanite to connect to guidance & clear quartz as a master healer.

You can read more about my love of crystals (and see some of the crystal necklaces i've made) here:  crystal-light-web.blogspot.com

Talking to Like-Minded Friends

i talked to 3 close friends (thank you Imana, Ashika & Jennifer), who i knew would support my decision to heal myself.  i asked for their prayers & supportive energy.  i decided not to tell anyone else about the dislocation, in case their worry & beliefs about healing flooded me with doubt.  After about 4 days i felt that i’d healed enough to tell my family (whose beliefs about medicine are different to mine, but i am grateful for their support). 

Putting the Pieces Together

This is a more cerebral part of the process, as i'm interested in finding the underlying pattern in things.  I knew i’d:

-       dislocated my knee

-       on the first day of spring

-       as i was walking into a yurt (like a hermit’s cave!)

I was aware that my thoughts were positive when it happened, so that didn’t seem related.  However, i took the rest of the pieces and received some insight into the deeper meaning of my injury, then i did some E.F.T. on what i’d discovered.

Natural Anti-Inflammatory Foods

I found a website with natural anti-inflammatory: some of the veggie items i already had at home (like broccoli, olive oil, turmeric).  I drank turmeric water & made some rice with a lot of turmeric.

Knee Support

I bought an elasticated support from the local pharmacy to assist me when i moved around.

Rest and Relaxation

I slept as much as my body needed (that was 14 hours the first night).  Before I fall asleep i ask the angels to give me the healing i need as i sleep.  I would also give myself Reiki before I fall asleep, which is standard practise for me!

Physiotherapy / Exercises

i found a couple of youtube videos with some simple physiotherapy exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee.  I practiced these after 7 days of total rest.

Walking Meditation

After about 4 days of completely resting the knee, walking only the absolute minimum, I decided to walk around the yurt.  I have practiced walking meditation in the past, which involved walking incredibly slowly (so you are aware of each centimeter of your foot contacting & leaving the floor).  As i walked, i put special attention on my knee:  how it felt, was it painful? how was the alignment with my foot & hip?


What *did* i do that i wouldn't recommend?

Ice Pack

i filled a ziploc freezer bag with snow.  This is designed to reduce the swelling and associated pain.  I continued with ice packs for 24 hours, until i read this:

“From the viewpoint of Chinese medicine the opposite is true. While ice numbs and stops the heavy influx of inflammation and infection-fighting cells thus decreasing the pain, the long-term results are blocked energy and blood (which coldness causes), a slower healing process and a longer-term pain. Ice and coldness slow down circulation and congeal the blood, just as ice on a river stops the flow of water on the top. The flow of energy is then blocked, also.

With the application of heat (the sooner the better), fresh energy and blood are immediately brought to the location for healing with continued circulation. The heat also alleviates the pain and actually quickens the healing process, especially over the long run.”

http://www.planetherbs.com/therapies/barefoot-doctor-healing-techniques.html

Whilst we can’t believe everything we read online, this ‘felt right' (see 'Listening to my Body'  above) to me, as i’d had reservations about the ice from the get-go. i stopped the ice pack.   Knowing what i know now, i wouldn’t use an icepack at all.

Googling

Googling medical injuries has never made me feel better.  Ever!  But i did it anyway!  I was reminded of much of what i’d heard the other 3 times my knee had been dislocated:

–      i should to go to A&E/E.R. get x-rays to check there wasn’t floating cartilage & that the patella was properly back in place,

–      i would need around 6 weeks on crutches for my knee to recover before i could put weight on it,

–      it would then take a further 6-16 weeks of physiotherapy for my knee to be healthy.

i didn’t believe it.  The last time it dislocated i was travelling in India & after taking x-rays, the doctor told me the most important thing was not to put weight on my knee for 7 days.  He gave me antibiotics to make sure i didn’t get an infection and anti-inflammatory to reduce the swelling.  (I refused pain killers.)  That was all 6 years ago & after the 7 days i was able to start walking around (very slowly).

So, straight off the bat, i didn’t believe that i needed such an extensive healing time.  However, i wanted to take care of my knee as it’s not something with which to gamble (walking & dancing are two of my favourite activities!).  i had to find the balance.  E.F.T. helped a lot in addressing those concerns.

If you really want to Google…consider adding keywords like “holistic”, “natural”, “healing” to what you're searching.  And remember that you don’t HAVE to believe what you read.  You can co-create your own healing process based on your beliefs.

Outcome

It is now 16 days after the dislocation and my knee is feeling fantastic.  I am careful not to walk too far & as much as possible i walk on even surfaces (like paved roads, as opposed to all the snow and ice which surrounds our yurt!).  I still wear the knee support when i’m walking further than a few steps.

i’d say she feels 90% healed.  When i can dance i will know i am completely healed, but i am not in any hurry.  Looking back it feels like a beautiful experience showing me that it is possible to heal physical issues with energy work.  This is a lesson i am so grateful to receive.  i feel a renewed strength in my beliefs of & commitment to holistic healing.  i am grateful to my body for telling me what she needs in order to heal.

Read the specific details of how i used E.F.T. during the knee healing process {here}.
Visit my E.F.T. website here:  EFTharmony.com 
Visit my crystal website here:  crystal light-web 
You can read my humorous account of the dislocation story on my yurt blog {here}.