Physios often seem to be happy people

I tried the NHS dial-up physio service in which you describe your symptoms to a physio over the phone and are then prescribed a course of treatment - the inevitable set of stretches.

Rationally I'm convinced that stretches are a good idea and several times in my life I've attempted to embed the habit.  It's never worked  - I've simply found them too dull.

This time I was determined it was going to be different and so I thought I'd use the 'Pain of Paying' as a way to enforce the behaviour change and consulted a private physio.  Very cheerily she advised a similar set of stretches to the dial-up physio.  The big advantage is the practical rehearsal in the clinic so that you learn what it should feel like and build a physical memory rather than relying on your interpretation, or misinterpretation, of diagrams.  The session, though less than 40 minutes, seemed a good investment of £70.

And so it goes.  Lots of work on the hamstrings and stretches after exercise.

 

Time to consult the medical profession

My wife and I took a Sunday walk on a muddy forest track with swathes of bluebells.  Picking my way across a particularly treacherous section, I slipped and fell into a squat still on my feet.  Whoaaahhhh.  Ultra pain :-o.  Initially I wondered if I'd torn a ligament.  However getting up things seemed OK and I could comfortably walk back home.

The sharpness of the pain prodded me to book an appointment with my GP and get my clunk listened to.

I often feel a bit embarrassed seeing a GP, aware that resources are short and there are calls on the GP's time - often from folk who have really incapacitating diseases.  Still prevention is better than cure!

After a few knee flexes and a hunt for tender spots (none) he asked me what I thought the problem might be.  Is this a fair tactic?  Or is this lending a consultant your watch so that he can tell you the time?  I thought it fair - the GP cannot draw upon the experience of living in my body every day.  So we discussed the amount of cycling I do, the related problems of uneven muscle development and the possibility that the patella is not tracking properly.  Time for some physio.