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Would like to discuss the little Timmy analogy. I was a very active gardener turning over a 25X40 garden by shovel 2 years ago. It was not easy for a female in her 70's but I persevered with planting and weeding and doing what was needed. I became unable to walk without assistance due to severe pain in one knee which after 6 months traveled to my foot and then to the other knee and other foot. Should I have ignored the pain and continued working? I don't take pain meds. Gardening was my stress reliever.
Replies to "Would like to discuss the little Timmy analogy. I was a very active gardener turning over..."
Wow - sudden pain is your body's "red alert" warning system & should be heeded. Have you figured out the source?
I sympathize with the loss of gardening as a distraction. Maybe you need to do what I have done after 5 hip replacements, and now wearing-out knees - contract the heavy duty work like turning the garden to someone young. My grand nephews treat it like a workout, and they like the extra cash!
Also, I plant many of my veggies in straw bales, which involve no bending or kneeling, no digging (and little weeding). Then after 2 years, the bales collapse, and you plant right in the resulting compost, again with no digging. And all the herbs go in pots - big ones, that are part of the decor on my patio.
Sue
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I'm sorry to hear of your loss of gardening as a stress reliever, and your chronic pain. I respect your motivation and understand your frustration.
Chronic pain lasts longer than 6 months, beyond the time for healing, and becomes ongoing. When pain begins we have no way of knowing if its acute or chronic. We should definitely not ignore the onset of pain. It's important to listen to our bodies and try to figure out what's wrong.
My analogy of Timmy represents the ongoing nature of chronic pain. When there is nothing left but management of an issue that can not be fixed, healed or cured.
What tools are you currently using for stress relief? Have you been able to find another distraction that you enjoy?