In 2017 on this very day I finished the Ladakh Marathon. I am reminiscing my feelings.

“After finishing 21 kms at an altitude of 11500 ft above sea level, it is but natural that there will be soreness and stiffness. One begins to wonder whether it’s worth propelling a 56 year old body or whether it is doing me any harm. I guess it is not accepting any limitations and believing you are only as old as you feel.

During these marathons you come across amputees, polio afflicted, blind and other differently abled people who are not willing to let their disabilities drag them down. In my case I had bad knees and was told 17 years ago I would require knee replacement in 5 years.

Every orthopedic surgeon worth his salt advised me to choose exercises which would not stress my knees. Initially I tried those exercises like swimming and water aerobics. But didn’t find any improvement in my knees. Then I took the decision 8 years ago that if knee replacement is inevitable then I might as well go out with a bang!

I joined a gym kept a personal trainer and never told him about the pain I was experiencing on doing exercises like squats because I knew then he would not make me do it. I also started running on the treadmill something which I never had done earlier. I discovered because of the pain we experience the movement at the knee joints get limited and along with it movement at other joints like hips. We are no longer able to sit cross legged or use an Indian style toilet. The muscles also undergo disuse atrophy. As the saying goes “if you don’t use it you lose it.”

Physiotherapy involves improving range of movement and strengthening muscles. I was ultimately doing physiotherapy on my knees albeit in an extreme form. I’ll warn anyone who plans to tread my path that things became worse before they improved. My knees would get swollen up, a synovial bursa ruptured, the shin would be extremely tender and the muscles especially the calves would be stiff and painful. Rather than having an athletic gait I had more of a gait of aged person.

Any consultation with an orthopedic surgeon and I would be given advice on how to go easy on the knees, use a lift instead of stairs and plan my work in such a way that I would not have to go up and down the stairs often. What I never told them is actually how much stress I was subjecting my knees to. It was kind of a stubbornness and a belief that I was doing the right thing.

Very slowly things began to fall into place. The range of movement on my knees improved and I could sit cross legged or in a squatting position. Then I decided to add a further stress to my knees, start running on the road and for distances. This must have been 3 years ago when I used to run a 1 km stretch and another discovery I made, along with the stiffness of the knees we also develop stiffness in the small joints of the foot. You tend to run flat footed with the entire foot slapping on the ground.

Gradually after working on my form I managed to achieve the desired forefoot then heel strike. Nothing comes easy and no pain no gain but the most important thing is to be consistent.
Now touch wood! My knees feel like new and recently got them checked up. The orthopedic surgeon was surprised when he reviewed the x-rays that how healthy my knees looked.

I discovered amongst the runners circle that there are many other people with similar stories like mine. Even scientific evidence also shows that running with the correct form improves the knees.”