yup...I put up with knee pain for too long...kept running until my knees hurt so much I couldn't sleep...tried walking instead of running, but after a year or so, couldn't walk without pain...couldn't fish, hike, bike, play tennis...
so I got the most damaged knee replaced...surgeon said he'll fix the other one after a couple of years, but not running and not playing tennis has caused the pain to stop in the left knee...
I can walk long distances now, fish, hike, bike...but I really miss tennis, so I occasionally play doubles...
edit: RE: flip flops...I don't like the thong type where you slip the big toe and the second toe around the thingy...I wear sliders instead, and OOFOS makes the lightest, most comfortable and shock absorbent ones around
delta1 wrote:
Similar tennis story but different part of the body.
When I was having pain in my right shoulder, I kept avoiding going to the doctor, afraid of what he might tell me. I was getting older so thought all I needed to do was to warm up better / longer. Once I got things going, could hit my serve and overhead with full force and no ill effects. But, had to ice it down after every session. Gettin' old, that's all.
Then, in a move of utter stupidity, I tore a ligament when I was trying to quasi-show off to my son that I could still touch the basketball backboard. Doctor confirmed the tear and said I could either get it repaired or learn to live with the pain. I opted for the surgery and after a successful procedure and a few months of rehab, my shoulder started to feel MUCH better. I could actually reach up for something with less pain (...still had to break more scar tissue so it wasn't totally painless...) each time. Went back to playing tennis.
A few years later, my left shoulder started giving me problems. I self-diagnosed it as another ligament issue so didn't wait and saw the doctor. MRI showed a partial tear of my labrum (...so much for staying at a Holiday Inn Express...). Got the surgery, did the rehab. Went back to playing tennis.
Then a few years after that, my right shoulder started acting up again. Oh no, not another surgery!?!?
Nope, doc said I had, what he considered, a mild case of arthritis. But, too minor to get surgery. However, it hurt whenever I played tennis so stopped playing. Like you, I really miss tennis but almost all of my friends have stopped playing so don't even have a foursome to play doubles anymore. Officially retired.
