Late last week, in my study, while reading over my emails for Dr. Bill’s Clinic, I got an all too common question that I thought I’d share with you. It’s unfortunately all too common, because young people tend to think they’re immortal and invulnerable and older people find out, the hard way, that they’re not. In either case, someone ends up hurt.
One guy wanted to know how he could continue to play soccer, if he had sprained his knee. From his question, I already know he shouldn’t be playing, because his injury was a few weeks ago. Naturally, he had no treatment, hoping it would just “go away.” (Well, it ALL goes away eventually, doesn’t it?) And here we are, some few weeks later, still no treatment, and he wonders why he still hurts.
A “weekend warrior” tends to be his own victim and his own worst enemy. It’s that inner teenager that lives in the heart of every man. Women, in my experience, are much too smart for this. Please understand, I’m not being smugly judgmental-I’ve been subject to this same syndrome-and I KNOW better.
Some years ago (in the mid to late 80′s), after office hours, I was working out in the Physical Therapy Department of the office building I shared with my pals and partners, the rheumatologists. I was on the leg press machine, using a very heavy weight for very short arcs, to strengthen my knees. This is, in fact, one of the classic exercises to strengthen knees, to prevent pain. I still have this classic in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM & DVD
http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
In any event, I was doing it as it should be done, a very short arc of motion, to protect the knee. And I was using in excess of about 400 pounds, for these short arcs. Chris, a senior physical therapist, who was there after hours, cleaning some of the equipment, was watching me from across the room.
As I was focused on pressing out the last few reps, he shouted encouragement, “C’mon Bill! Bend Deeper! Dig deeper! You can do it!” With that, my dopey inner teenager woke up and responded to that challenge, right past my conscious brain.
Yeah, I could DO it! I bent down deeper, twice as deep as I intended and…PING!
I felt, rather than heard, a little sharp sting of pain, behind my right kneecap, that almost made me drop the weight. But I held on and lowered it, with some control, even though it HURT like the devil.
Crap!
I knew instantly what I had done. Stupid. STUPID. STUPID! I had overloaded my retropatellar cartilage and split it open. And once articular cartilage is split, it will never be normal again-it simply can’t heal. Great.
I couldn’t blame the therapist. He was trying to encourage me. I should have known better. I DID know better. But that damn inner 18 year old was in there, alive and well… and stupid. From that day onward, I had trouble with that knee, soon followed by the other one.
That was the beginning of my knee pain, from chondromalacia patellae, a degenerative softening of the cartilage behind (or rather underneath) the kneecap. Now, in all fairness, I probably would have developed this trouble sooner or later, anyway. But I might have delayed it for years, but for this one attack of idiocy.
So, believe me, I sympathize with this guy who wrote me. I’ve been there and done that.
Anyway, he apparently got himself a sprain of his knee. But, since he isn’t a real teenager, rather a middle aged guy, his body doesn’t forgive, the way a kid’s might. He didn’t heal. And his constant activity level was preventing his recovery.
I told him he needed to rest for a couple of weeks. And that means, getting a hinge brace for his knee, to splint the sprained collateral ligament, while still allowing the knee to bend and extend. Once he’s no longer tender, he can start to train his knee muscles, to bring blood to the area for faster healing and to increase his strength. Stronger muscles will help share the load and stabilize the joint, with the healing ligament. And the best and fastest way to accomplish that is with my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM & DVD.
http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
So if you, too, get an attack of “the stupids” and discover that you’re paying the price in pain, get started NOW with my program. You’ll get fast pain relief and get back in the game quicker. And if you continue with those exercises and stretches after the injury heals, you’ll be a whole lot less likely to get another injury, too.
Til next time, my friend, be well.
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and your optimal health,
Dr. Bill
“The Wellness Warrior” TM
