Succumbing to Pain

This morning I sat at the top of the stairs and sobbed. 

Something had shifted in my knee (suspected loose cartilage) and the pain was overwhelming.  I had hobbled around our bedroom, fished out my old neoprene knee sleeve (I always keep one handy because you never know) pulled it on to give a little physical support and more so, a mental boost, to steel myself against pain I would face with each step.

I looked down the stairs and gave myself a pep talk, between tears, that I could do this.  I thought of all the options – going back to bed, what kind of pain relief medicine I had (sadly, I’m allergic to the more potent codeine drugs), if I should dig out my crutches from the basement.  I was pretty much at the top of my tolerance for pain with nothing more that I could do to relieve it. I finally coaxed myself into one step at a time.  That is all we can ever take, right?  One step at a time.

My knees story is a long and complicated one with 8 knee surgeries in my past, a set of terribly arthritic knees now, and a near future of more surgeries including impending replacements.  Yet I stay fit and healthy thanks to all of the tactics and "Do's and Don'ts" I've learned about strength training and riding my bicycle, both indoors and out.  I love sharing those tips and you can see many of them here in my book Healthy Knees Cycling.

I’m writing this mostly to say that there are good days and there are worse.  Those of you with knee pain, or hip pain, or back pain, or any kind of pain, understand this.  I happen to be on a worse day, but I have hope that I will walk again without pain and will resume the activities that I know are good for me and my knees.  This acute pain is temporary and something that must be bared until a solution is found.  Not willing to just accept “fate”, let’s go figure out what can be done to make things better.  Take action!  Find a solution. Get tough and move on.

I wish for you the resolve you need for today and the hope of a better day tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Robin Robertson

PS - If you want to learn more about how to get moving again, in a way that is good for your body, you can use the tactics shared in Healthy Knees Cycling and on my website HealthyKneesBook.com.  Once you register your book, you also have access to free downloads (with pictures that show you how) for strength training and stretching.