Baker's Cyst

Korean medicine treatment for a Baker's cyst consists of three main stages. Stage 1 (Acute Phase, 1–2 weeks): Acupuncture and pharmacopuncture are used to rapidly reduce inflammation and pain around the cyst. Stage 2 (Recovery Phase, 3–6 weeks): Fascial and ligament adhesions are separated using fine needles, tissue regeneration is induced using thread embedding, and constitutional pathology is corrected with herbal medicine. Stage 3 (Stabilization Phase): We establish a recurrence-free state through maintenance treatment and exercise prescriptions, conducted no more than once a week. From a Korean medicine perspective, Stage 1 addresses outwardly manifested symptoms by immediately alleviating heat sensations caused by waste fluids and stagnation of Qi and blood; Stage 2 addresses the root cause by correcting bodily functional abnormalities such as decreased digestive and metabolic functions and vital energy; and Stage 3 is a preventive phase that maintains a state of normalized Qi and blood circulation and organ function. In each stage, external treatments (acupuncture, specialized acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, thread embedding) and internal treatments (herbal medicine) work complementarily, and the timing of stage transitions is flexibly adjusted based on the patient's response.