If you've ever seen --even accidentally-- a Steven Segal film, you'll be completely flummoxed to learn that they might contain a nugget of wisdom. In "Out of Reach," the villain Faisal says, "Pain is your friend. Learn to love pain and it will set you free." I don't think he was referring to recovering from ACL reconstruction, but if he was, he was right on the mark. (By the way, if you've never seen a Steven Segal film, consider yourself blessed. I'm pretty sure I'm at least 2 IQ points lower just for having seen snippets of his movies). The surgery, the swelling, the cutting, it has all left my knee painful and tender and not wanting to do the rehab exercises. Most are not actually that bad, but bending the knee in as far as it will go is agonizing. When I do it, I usually wind up cursing, begging for death and making faces that look like this:
Here's a sideview, so you can see how far I'm bending my knee:
But when it's over, when I put my knee back down, the pain goes away and I feel sweet relief. And on the next painful, agonizing bend, I'm able to get it just a little further. And that's progress towards a full recovery. So maybe Faisal is right. Loving the pain will set me free.
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