In January 2018, I underwent a Tibial Osteotomy at the One Hatfield Hospital in the UK. I had been suffering from the onset of arthritis on my right knee and needed a solution that would avoid a knee replacement operation and get my life back to some level of normality.
In April 2018 I traveled on business from London, UK to Detroit, USA – a journey with 2 connecting flights and over 15 hours of combined travel time.
In my previous blog, I forgot to mention that I continued taking pain killers such as standard Ibuprofen, Paracetamol (when needed) and calcium tablets. The purpose was to manage the pain; after 3.5 months, the swelling and pain was still prevalent, advice from the Physio was to take the tablets when needed; pain management is key, you cannot be a hero as the healing process is still ongoing.
So on the flight over, I did not sleep, I kept moving on the aircraft. I decided to work on my laptop standing up and it really worked. When I landed in Chicago (1st stop) I was able to walk OK and the swelling was not bad. I did get some assistance from ground staff, which was great. At my next check in for my flight to Chicago, I boarded first, placed my crutch in the compartment above my seat and rested up. The rest of the journey from the Airport to the hotel was uneventful.
As soon as I did get to my hotel room (around 2pm), I crashed for a few hours and then drank a lot of water. Again, no pain!
As I adjusted to the timezone and to the extended work day, pain management and rest was key. The key thing was not to slack off but to keep to the routine to date. I was also conscious of not acting like I was a special needs case – If I needed to use the crutch I would otherwise I would try to walk and ensure my posture was correct. Its so easy to get back pains, impact the good knee or develop hip joint pains; a symptom of overcompensating.
Will I Run Again 