I’ve written a post similar to this before, but decided to revisit the topic to share a new anecdote.
First, for those who don’t know me well, this isn’t some sentimental wallow that someone might expect to go like this:
You'll look back on your knee pain and feel grateful for it, because you develop an inner strength to cope with adversity and discover the truly meaningful things in life etc.
Honestly, by dealing with knee pain, you may learn you possess an inner fortitude, and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but you might realize the same thing after climbing a really tall mountain, and that’s what I’d much rather do.
Constant knee pain is miserable.
So how can it be the best thing that ever happened to you? Well, that’s conditional on two things: (1) You escape your knee pain (2) You become smarter about this complex machine you happen to be dragging around, tethered to your consciousness, that you call your body.
I feel that I scored big on (1) and (2) both, so I’m a pretty lucky guy.
What does (2) mean exactly? To me, it means that, during your recovery, you evolved skills in playing “medical detective” – figuring out, sometimes with creative thinking, cause and effect when something on your body starts hurting. You no longer give a fatalistic shrug and say, “I’m just getting old.” You painstakingly try to figure out what’s causing your pain, and you experiment with ways to get better.
Now here’s the anecdote that led to this post.
A month or so ago, I noticed occasional sharp pain in the side of my left knee when descending stairs. I have to confess, I did wonder if the chronic knee pain that I thought I had beaten had returned. Was it possible that I was wearing out the cartilage in the joint through strenuous biking?
But the pain was on the side of the knee. It wasn’t burning. And it came and went, but seemed to be getting worse.
Well, what could be going on, I wondered.
It just so turned out that a few weeks earlier, I had started a new job that features long hours and full days at my desk. And, one day at work, I happened to notice that I was crossing my ankles when I felt tension, in a way that was torquing my knee slightly.
Not much. And the knee never hurt when I was doing it.
Still, I consciously forced myself to stop. Whenever I saw my legs in that crossed-ankle position, I put my feet flat on the floor and relaxed.
And I think you know what's coming: the knee pain gradually went away. It’s gone now.
The point is that's exactly why knee pain – again, if you recover – can be a good thing. You become much more attuned to your body and can turn into a rather savvy medical detective.
Had I gone to a doctor about this side-of-knee pain, I guarantee he never would’ve figured out the reason.
And if I had never gone through that miserable ordeal with knee pain, I probably wouldn’t have either.
Does your program help with those with osteoarthritis?
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, Betty! I like to think my book is quite valuable -- but I also warn people it's a story, my story, with what I learned mixed in. It's not for everyone, especially those primarily seeking "how to" exercises. For that you may want to check out Doug Kelsey's excellent "The 90 Day Knee Arthritis Remedy."
Deletehttp://dougkelsey.com/stiff-achy-knees/
Richard,
ReplyDeleteThanks for another great post. Though I am still far from recovery, your points resonated as I have already learned so much through this process. I do think the way these experiences can shape us personally and increase empathy are not all blah blah, but I understand your desire to not romanticize these crappy situations.
I wanted to quickly say a big thank you. Your book and posts have been so important to me in my journey with my knees in many ways. But one of the most powerful was earlier this week when I was going through a huge setback. I was making good progress and may step count was way up and then I had a huge pain spike. I thought it would pass in a couple of days as the first setback did, but a week later I was still struggling despite dialing my movement way down. I was despairing and struggling to know what to do and then I thought to look back through my knee journal. The fact that I had kept such detailed notes helped me reframe the situation that this was not some new level of pain, but rather a return to where I had been 4 weeks earlier. It was still frustrating, but I changed my mindset to that if I had already done it before and I could it again, just slower and smarter this time. I think I would still be deeply struggling if I had not kept the journal as you recommended.
This experience also led me to reflect that I have not seen much detail on setbacks in the book and here. You and others mention them, but I am always hungry for more detail to help manage my expectations (do they last days or weeks for others? What works when they happen? etc.) I wonder if another Open Comment Forum on this topic would be useful at some point.
Thanks again both for all your initial work to develop and share your story and for continuing to maintain this blog so many years after you healed.
With gratitude,
Oliver
Yes, setbacks would be a good subject for an open comment forum. Good idea. I have taken note. And also, yes, I realize my "blah blah blah" above (wording I chose rather hastily to dispel any notion that I am romanticizing the pain part of my long ordeal) comes off as too glib. I have now changed it to "etc." to recognize that these experiences do have some worth as you rightly point out, even as we all work(ed) toward the same objective: becoming pain free. Thanks for coming by!
DeleteThis strikes me as eerily similar to the title of a book by Stuart McGill and Brian Carroll. They call it The Gift of Injury. Here's a discussion of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oymN6MIUxDw&t=345s
ReplyDeleteI haven't read that book but I have read Back Mechanic by McGill. I find a number of similarities between McGill and Dye. In the youtube link (time 13:35), McGill likens an ACL knee injury to a back injury. Dye focuses on the knee but says frequently that his principles apply to joints in general and refers to his own carpal pain.
McGill and Dye do have different emphases--McGill on mechanics and Dye on tissues--but they both end up with very similar conclusions. They both view conventional physical therapy as an exacerbation of the problem in many instances. Dye has his "envelope of function" and McGill oten comes close to saying something almost identical to it.
I wrote this lengthy comment just to draw attention to the fact that McGill and Carroll's calling injury a "gift" is not dissimilar to your description of knee pain as "the best thing that ever happened."
Interesting. Have not heard of him, but will have to take a look. If he shares with Dye a skepticism of physical therapy, chances are I might like him. ;)
DeleteDear Richard,
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great post. I am currently reading your book and gives me ALOT of hope. Currently in the chapters about doctors and your PT. I can relate to everything this and even though i know i am far away from recovery, the recognition gives me so much hope, energy and calmness at the same time. I will for sure keep commenting in here and seek inspiration!
Thank you so much!
Kind regards,
Mads