It had been several weeks of chronic pain, back at least as far as early July, and I was increasingly confused and frustrated. My weekly trips to physio were all becoming the same. It hurt, and doing things hurt. While I was making incremental progress, I was starting to feel stuck and depressed.

Was I still on track? Was this a ‘no pain, no gain’ thing, or was the pain hindering my rehabilitation? Some moments were better than others; some were worse. Waking up each day was always gross – getting out of bed, my knee felt like a cold elastic band that had would have rather snapped than stretched. Most times just walking around the house, the joint wasn’t happy and every step felt limited and sore. Nights continued to suck and my sleep was always disrupted. What was really disappointing was losing the ability to go for walks. I was quite elated to get back on the 4-5 km walk routine a few weeks prior, but now couldn’t make it around the block without suffering.

About three weeks ago, my therapist started focusing on the pain. He noted my kneecap wasn’t gliding properly and suspected there was irritation underneath it, causing inflammation. We dialled back the intensity a bit. He saw that it was more swollen than before and it was always warm.

I had tried a few home remedies – normal and unconventional. Extra icing and hot baths felt nice but didn’t last. I went to a pot shop for the first time in my life and tried CBD oil and THC edibles – neither providing any therapeutic effect.

Last week, my therapist discussed things at length with me, and asked me to take a proactive regimen of Advil twice a day to see if it would keep the inflammation in check. Somehow I started to feel better almost as soon as I walked out the door. Something about being seen and heard, about my concerns being registered and understood, had a miraculous effect.

I think the chronic pain lasted 6-8 weeks – and it was probably the lowest point of this journey so far, given how different events were happening versus my expectations.

So credit the care or the ibuprofen, who knows, but it seems I finally turned a corner this past week. I am so relieved and happy. My knee flexion is very good – I’m well past 90 with no discomfort. Walking feels ‘pretty’ good; there’s still constant discomfort but it’s not holding me back nearly as much. I still need to build up my lower body strength – glutes, hamstrings, quads – areas I’ve had to avoid because of all this. That said, I’m not going to push too hard for the next little while, and just focus on quality movement instead of quantity. Also, I’ve adjusted my physio appointments to bi-weekly, to stretch out my benefits for the remainder of the year.