Hurt all over?

[angelak]

So it frustrates me when older people say this sort of thing, but maybe I'm just the naive young one.

My boss informed me that one day I will "hurt all over," no matter what as I age.
I cannot seem to believe this. Is this some reference to the idea that my knee injury is a crock and that I should shut up about it?
Is it to say that this is "normal" and that a sustained joint injury is... really no big thing?
What's the point of saying that?

Also... is it true? How is it my parents never mentioned that they don't "hurt all over?"
I'm confused.
Am I condemned to pain forever? Is that what it means?
Should I ask him to clarify this?
I feel really weird about the statements that he makes like this.
Uncomfortable. It also makes me afraid to live a little.
You see - there is this deep rooted fear that I will never heal. It's deep inside me and it never really goes away. I fight it often. Jim and my family assure me that I will one day heal. But when people say stuff like this, it sends me back into fearville.
You mean it should always hurt me from now on to stand more than 10 minutes or walk around and do my day to day business???? Is this normal and I am just a wimp? Wait, I am so confused...
And why is it whenever small things come along like this right now, it worries me to the point of wanting to cry?

-Angela

Comments

[sterling-raptor.livejournal.com]

My boss informed me that one day I will "hurt all over," no matter what as I age.
I cannot seem to believe this. Is this some reference to the idea that my knee injury is a crock and that I should shut up about it?
Is it to say that this is "normal" and that a sustained joint injury is... really no big thing?
What's the point of saying that?

Also... is it true?

Your knee injury is no joke, and at any age a joint injury requires a serious commitment to healing. Joints are very hard to heal because they are load bearing working parts of the body and during the healing process, it is very easy to re-injure the joints. The more times this happens, the longer the recovery. I am speaking from first hand experience: I ripped off my patella, tore out my muniscus, and tore my ACL in a dirt bike accident. It took over five years to heal as much as it is ever going to. It still hurts but it was a devastating injury.

And is it true you will hurt when you are old? First define old...50? Maybe. 60? Getting there. 70? I think so. But will you hurt...Yes, sweetie, but it doesn't have to be crippling or even anything you would spare more than a passing thought. Almost everyone I know who has sustained a major injury can tell you when it is going to rain because it aches. It isn't bad, not crippling, just a bit sore. Because I did competitive gymnastics for years and extreme dirt biking, I have a few more injuries than most. (I could have sworn I was immortal as a kid!) So, I hurt a bit more when it gets cold and wet. I am also 30 with Fibromyalgia so I know my symptoms are more than normal.

Aging is normal and once you get all old and wrinkly, having some creaks is normal too. For now, baby your knee. Do you physical therapy, and you will be fine.

Much love.

Thanks

[ithisia.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the perspective.
I think aging is roughly (well old to me is after 60s) but, he is nearing 60ish.

My mom said that normal aches and pains are normal, but sustained day in and day out constant injuries are not. And that my boss is "crocked."

:P

She said her and my dad do not walk around in constant pain. She also said older people tend to have more time on their hands to complain and focus on their pain, and perhaps that is what he means.

I'm 24 years old. I don't think standing for 10 minutes at a time should really pose an issue over the long term... I don't see other people struggling to find ways to sit down in meetings or when they have extended convos, steering towards chairs, leaning or sitting on anything just to get the pressure off themselves...

It is just so aggravating when someone diminishes your condition.
I will continue to baby my knee. If someone had just told me early on that it was THIS sort of situation... things might be so different. I get scared a lot that I have re injured myself, and I don't even know how to know.

Do I see another doctor to ask questions? I guess it would not hurt. I need to be taken seriously about this and it feels like at work I am not. And I feel like work tends to put the most strain on me. Physically.

-Angela

Re: Thanks

[jenk]

I don't think standing for 10 minutes at a time should really pose an issue over the long term... I don't see other people struggling to find ways to sit down in meetings or when they have extended convos, steering towards chairs, leaning or sitting on anything just to get the pressure off themselves...

I wouldn't accept that; I don't have that now. Yes, I had significant knee and hip pain last winter, but I got better with physical therapy. And I continue to do my exercises because otherwise I start to have problems again.

I've been diagnosed with arthritis in both knees and I do not have pain on an average day.

[dianthus.livejournal.com]

I think some people do walk around in constant pain, because of fibromyalgia or something like it, or because of constant tension.

And people don't always realize that others don't experience life the same way.

[jenk]

My dad thought my mother's arthritis was "whining".

He quit drinking when he was 50 or so, and discovered his knees, ankles, hips, shoulders ... all were sore a lot of the time!

Dad became more understanding of arthritis once he felt his own. BUT, and it's a big but, a morning dose of Aleve with breakfast got rid of most of the pain, too.

Aleve/NSAIDs

[ithisia.livejournal.com]

I stopped taking them because to me, I felt no significant change with NSAIDs. It had zero effect on how my knees felt. They felt the same whether I took the OTCs or not, so I figured that was just how useless they were.

But now I'm wondering if it is just that I have more pain and didn't realize that this is what it is. Pain. Until now... I have heard NSAIDs are supposed to HELP with pain.

I really guess I should go back in to have a talk. I did 2 months of PT. I still do stretches and strength training when I can, and albeit this week has been stressful so I waned a bit on it - I don't think it should impact me THIS much...

-Angela

[luna-piena.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I think he is projecting his experience on you. Maybe he is insecure about his own fitness and is having to think more about it because of how proactive you are being about your body.

Knee injuries are a big deal. The less seriously you deal with it, the more likely it is to continue to affect your life.

*hugs*

[nobodyberry.livejournal.com]

I dunno, it kind of sounds like he was making an insensitive comment, perhaps not knowing how serious it is to you. Everyone in my family complains about having more aches and pains as they get older, so I always thought it was just a part of life. But no, I don't think constant pain is ever normal.