I am an old soldier, so the patience you and others rightly emphasise does not exist in my psyche.

It is my nature to believe I can defeat this with effort and discipline, not rest and patience. I get frustrated at the pace of nature as a result of this or any such thing.

It isn't because patience isn't a trait; waiting quietly for an opportunity coming is an ingrained trait; very necessary. It's hard to put in words , perhaps the patience to wait out things that are out of ones control is what galls, even the notion itself that something is indeed out of ones control. Maddening.

The physical therapist who has been working with me for years now, she is the first to identify so many things I've compensated for and adapted to as a result of this injury, so many of which I never even considered part and parcel of it all. She also has a background in working with the military so she knows this inside and out. I already owe her a lot.

One thing she made clear to me is the fact it is in my training, indeed in my nature, to ignore pain. She reminds me of it constantly, "This muscle is locked up. It should hurt but you're ignoring the message. Pay attention, dammit!" I obviously still do it and I obviously am still unaware of it quite often.

Once things become massively intolerable, though, the result comes as a great whacking surprise and usually results in a visit to the emergency room (A&E). Nothing done by half, but in this situation it can result in a massive setback or even the wheelchair for life.

So good on you that man. Join the angel's chorus and keep banging away with the rest of my friends, my wife, the PT people (who now know me well indeed). I need it.