As we get older, the sins of our youth come to haunt us, goes the saying, I don’t know about the sins, but the bones broken and ligaments/tendons injuries sustained in our youthful exuberance whether on the sports field or the battlefield do serve us reminders of our misdemeanours daily. Then there are people who have led a sedentary lifestyle, having spent their life without subjecting their bodies to any kind of exercise, moving around with nary a pain. That sight itself is quite painful but with the aching and creaking joints we are forced seek solace with the physiotherapists, who have just been upgraded to the status of a doctor. They are naturally in demand these days, funny part is, we go there to suffer the ordeal which we undergo and even pay them for it.
With my shoulder giving me a cold shoulder since last couple of months, I too have been doing the rounds of orthopaedics, sports medicine specialists and physiotherapists. Incidentally I am a classic Orthopaedic patient having broken bones or torn those ligaments/tendons at regular intervals over the last nearly six odd decades. You name a part of the body and I have a history of injury, right from the head to the toe. Suffice to say that I am a moving encyclopaedia of injuries and ailments, so much so that doctors sometimes are shocked when I start belting out the medical jargon myself, which they often resort to confuse the hapless patients.
My latest encounter with the physios is currently on, surprisingly many of them are young lasses, who have set up their own clinics, where they treat people like us and in the bargain inflict unbearable pain on our unsuspecting bodies in order to provide us some relief. I am not sure of their line of treatment, may be with these administered pains, we tend to forget the original ones which brought us to their doorstep in the first place. If it was the shoulder, which was the culprit, it is the back, the neck and the fast disappearing biceps which are at the receiving end, and they end up suffering the trials and tribulations. The worst part is we, being a Veteran, can’t even wince in pain, you know, “मर्द को दर्द नहीं होता ” (men don’t feel any pain) types, so just grin and bear it, else your masculinity itself at stake.
I have been wondering as to why aren’t this clan of physios put to use in the torture chambers, I mean, with the knack that they have, they can reduce even the strongest of hulks to tears. The third degree methods are passé, and in any case the criminals have already got used to them, these are novel ones, together with the dentists I think they will make quite a formidable pair. As dentists just have to ensure that the mouth is kept open for couple of hours, the poor sod will spill the beans, the moment he gets to close it lest he be forced to open it again. Anyway getting back to the physios, their clinics these days are full of gizmos, the Laser, the Chinese Suction Cups, Ultrasound, something called the Tense, and then the mother of all, Shockers. I wonder whether these people have had any training in the “shock and awe” of the cavaliers, as they not only shock the hell out of you, but also leave you awestruck with the rest of the paraphernalia at their disposal. The body finally is forced to succumb to the onslaught and all the hidden knots and stressed muscles come to the fore seeking solace, which I am hoping will come about gradually. As of now since they have just managed to make their presence felt, my complete body seems to have gone off on a strike, with none of the limbs obeying my command, having got their own version of AI working for them. Well I have no option but to grin and bear it, as sore shoulders one with supraspinatus tendon tear (this one is just to impress my friends!) does not leave me with much choice in terms of physical activity. My Tennis, Squash rackets along with Golf clubs are languishing in their bags respectively waiting desperately for this ordeal to be over so that they are put to some good use again. So here is hoping that, the physios are successful in sending me back to the courts and the course that I belong to, rather than doing the rounds of these clinics.
PS: No offence to the practitioners of this intricate medical science called physiotherapy, they are doing a yeoman’s service to the oldies and sportspersons. After all we are still at their mercy!
15 thoughts on “Mard ko dard nahi hota (Men don’t feel any pain)”
very nicely articulated and presented . Hats off 👏
Very nicely written Sir, easily relatable with most of us in this age gp and beyond, but with the pretty AI Physiotherapists around you, I am sure you don’t want to get back to any courts or courses early 😀
Nevertheless, wishing you a speedy and total recovery Sir 😊
Aging is a part of life, but age is just a number but your physiotherapist’s goal is to keep you doing the things you love.
Suyash, so good, so relatable including the Mard ko dard nahi hota part 😀
Wishing you get back to the court/ course very soon 😊
Sahi pakade hain…..👌👌👌
Subject……of your article also photo 😂😂
So very true Suyash,I thought I was the one suffering alone. Chaal bhi badal gayi hai bhai
Nicely put, Suyash. At our gloriously “young” age, aches and pains are less of an exception and more of a recurring calendar entry.
Frozen shoulder, in particular, can be quite the unwelcome companion, persistently painful, stubbornly limiting. But take heart, it does have a habit of making a rather unceremonious exit just when you’ve begun to lose patience with it. At least, that’s how it played out for me!
Everything is okay but your physiotherapists must not be the reason for your pains n discomfort. Enjoy the painless experience
Bhai,
Had you not consigned your golf set and squash racket to a corner of your house perhaps you wouldn’t hv been so lucky to visit the beautiful physiotherapists.
Jokes apart..Once again a nice and humorous anecdote.
Very well written. So very true.
Completely relatable……!
You nailed it Suyash.
Oh the groans and the recovery process
I think your sense of humour is doing at least half the healing. If laughter is medicine, you’re clearly overdosing—in the best possible way.
‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’.
Someone long back told me ‘ If the doctor is handsome, keep the apple away’. Well the physio lassies look amazing and you look pretty happy but still wishing you a quick recovery……
the aches n pains…the physio assies inflicting pain…
brought smile and laughter. Suyesh you a way with words.
Excellent!