My Aching Knee

A couple of hours after my walk yesterday, my right knee was hurting.  Nothing had happened on my walk to strain it, that I could remember, but there it was.  Of course, I hadn't stretched afterwards (I have GOT to get better about that).  So I shut my office door and did my stretching routine, which never fails to make me feel better.  Except for yesterday.  That knee kept hurting, and it didn't seem to be a muscle, it felt more like -- I don't know -- a bone?  tendon?  That's the frustrating thing about the knee -- it's just about the only part of the body that doesn't respond to massaging.  Probe around in there, and you just feel joints and cartilege.

So I came home, and took a couple of Aleves.  After about an hour I was marveling over the fact that they really hadn't helped.  They always help!  But when I got up this morning, and the Aleve had worn off, I realized they HAD helped.  If I hadn't taken them, my knee would have felt like it did this morning, which was very, very sore. 

On the other hand, any ache or pain is always worse first thing in the morning.  Get up and start moving, take a hot shower, and it's 50 percent better.  I had planned to take my walk this morning, but logic tells me to rest it as long as possible.  I'm going to wait til the end of my work day, and replicate the walk I took yesterday.  Logic also dictates that, as unstable as the knee feels, having Banks tugging on the end of the leash adds a variable that I don't need. 

The one non-negotiable in all this is taking the walk.  I don't want to do anything stupid, but I also can't bear to interrupt my progress.  Take a rest day because your knee hurts, and next thing you know, a flu will stop you, or a headache.  Nope, I'm seeing this thing through.

I saw an orthopedist last year (same month, same knee), who said that nine Aleve (or its equivalent) per day was the max that could be recommended.  I hate taking any medicine, and I was shocked at the leeway he was offering.  That's three pills, three times a day.  But I'll do it if I have to.  The hell with my liver. 

I'll check in with you tomorrow and let you know how the walk goes.