Day 10: Chinese, Japanese, Achy-Knees

Let me start by saying that I have had the worst knees known to mankind for the past 5 years.  They will (every few months) pop out of joint and drop me to the floor, make clicking and popping noises off and on and ache with any substantial time spent on my feet.  So it shouldn’t surprise me I  am having a knee problem, right?

For some reason it still came as a great shock when my left knee REALLY started hurting.  2 days ago it was tender, I ignored it, life went on.  Then at the gym yesterday, about 15 minutes into the treadmill workout, it caught up with me.  REAL PAIN.  For about 5 minutes I held the side handles on the treadmill (the granny rails) and took some of  the weight off my legs.  Then I reduced the speed by a few tenths of a mile and got through my 40 minutes.

So now what?  I called dear SIL (the trainer) and she told me that my knees WILL get stronger and stop hurting eventually, but for now i can use an ace bandage for support.  I am supposed to have it tighter above and below the knee and looser over the knee for flexion.  She is brilliant!  I am not working out today (Wednesdays and Sundays off) so it will have time to rest a little too.  It still hurts today, is popping and even sounds like a little grinding.  Cripes.

All I can say is it’s never too late to start making healthy changes.  My body may already be damaged but I can take better care of it and make it work more efficiently from here on out.