ouch

I get it. I now know from experience how it feels to really hurt your knee. Ended up in the emergency room after falling. I work with client's knees all the time.  Many actually consider me a massage expert on knees. Football and basketball players hurt knees a lot. I also now understand plantar fascitis. Uck been dealing with that for over a year. The pain is not really my problem but the limitations the condition causes really are a pain.  I have had client's tell me that their knee feels like it will buckle- now I know what they mean.  I am much more compassionate about foot pain in others since I had foot pain.  In the beginning most of the knee pain was not in my knee  but everywhere else in my leg and it was the pain that protects. 

The brace is a big help but makes moving strange. I quickly learned that I could not get up from the floor without help.  Right now I won't even get on the floor.  I am afraid to fall. I have fell a lot in my life physically, mentally and spiritually but did not stay down however often did use a brace.  Not all braces are created equal.  The one in the picture is generic, inexpensive and given to me at the hospital emergency room.  One of the football players gave me a really really specific brace and I was able to maintain regular client schedule using it which was 12 clients in two days.  I was really tired because of the extra effort. Now the metaphor relationship.

The summit meeting in St Louis was very productive as reported by those in attendance and I believe them. However, since I  was not there the experience is like one of my client's explaining about a knee injury and actually experiencing a knee injury.  I also know that the dreams generated at the meeting will take time to become reality. A significant knee injury requires a fully year of concentrated healing and rehab.  if anything is going to come from that historic and important gathering all of us need be supportive of the people, compassionate about the intention and demanding of concrete results.   I need to see a unified position with action. To all out there reading this- the required changes are going to be an inconvenience but this profession cannot tolerate the status quo any longer. It will be messy, frustrating and hurt because the system  is injured just like my knee. Lets stop bickering in this profession. Everyone needs to support the other part so the organizations better identify ways to work together instead of compete. We need to heal and return to function and while my knee was not broken there is significant damage and in the massage profession we also have experienced damage by not clearly defining organizational roles and working together.  All massage therapists, students, schools, teachers, clients and other stake holders need to provide support yet demand results.  We all will have to bend so we don't break and a sense of humor helps.

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