RE NFL players, I don't either! The first couple of weeks set a new baseline for pain (and I had a couple of doozys!).
That old joke about "Take care of your knees; you're going to miss them when they're gone," wasn't so much of a joke after all…
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NFL players have better health care.
From the time of injury, within 24 hours, they've had an MRI and a team of physicians looking into the injury. Within the next 48 hours they've already had the surgery to correct the issue and don't get the opportunity for the joint to seize up. Afterward they have 24 hour therapy to get them back on the field... After all, they're cattle...nothing more!
When I blew out my knee, it took me two weeks to find a doctor to treat me and another 6 weeks to get an MRI done to see what kind of damage I'd done. In the meantime, my knee atrophied into a 30 degree angle that only removal of the meniscus could correct.
With the exception of my kidney stones, the pain was as bad as I've felt in my lifetime the first time the therapist bent my knee back to 90 degrees. Full motion took another 10 visits...