When it's pitch black all around, and there is no light source within reach, it can be rather terrifying to say the least.
One impression I got reading recent comments: a lot of people out there are struggling, and they're scared about what an uncertain future holds for them and their hurting knees. They see darkness all around and don't know where the light will come from.
What do you tell people in that situation? Well, first, I must admit to a weakness of mine: I'm not really a rah-rah kind of guy. I'm a poor cheerleader. I'm naturally skeptical and scrutinize and think about claims of knowledge and rightness carefully.
But, in a way, I suppose that makes me a better "cheerleader." I'm not falsely pushing some snake oil. I stand behind things I believe in (but am open to the fact that my beliefs may be wrong, though you have to prove that to me, too).
So what is it important for people to remember when they feel like their life is being ruled by the misery of knee pain, and their plight will never improve?
First, it can get better. Not that it will. You have to work hard at healing knees. There's a lot of sliding around, going forwards and backwards, and sometimes not knowing why, and it becomes hard to resist that temptation to throw your arms up in the air and say, "None of this makes sense; I'll never get better."
Second, the amount of patience you need is truly Job-ian. There are people on this forum who have spent years (and not one or two years either, but a lot more than that) figuring out this puzzle of their knee pain, only to finally triumph (more or less) over it. I'm grateful they're part of this community.
Third, you have to commit to doing something. And that something is movement, of some kind. I really believe that inactive joints are soon-to-be-dead joints. You have to move, but it has to be the right kind, and the right amount. I don't like the gung ho, never-been-injured therapists exhorting patients to push, push, push, and suck up the pain.
Fourth, you need to nurture hope, optimism, belief, like a fragile sprout sunk into a hostile soil. One way to help do this is not to become knee obsessive (says the man who was definitely knee obsessive!). If your mind is in a good place, that will help in healing. Laugh at a comedy. Enjoy a friendship. Tell someone you love them. Get out of your own skin, your own worried mind, for a little while.
Anyway, just a few simple thoughts today. Remember the saying, "it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness." That's what we're trying to do here, light candles. Happy wishes to all!
