I rarely go to a doctor. Basically because I am scared he will find something nasty going on in my body. At my age I can’t expect all systems to be doing well.
But last week I was forced to go to the hospital to meet an orthopaedist. My knees were hurting badly and I couldn’t jog even for a few minutes, let alone for the two and a half hours I am used to.
I was ushered into his office quickly, thanks to my senior rank and more important, my advanced age.
“Hello sir,” said the doctor, fortyish, competent-looking but obviously stressed out by work, “What is the problem?” “Doc,” I said, “I am not able to run; my right knee is very stiff and sore”. I handed over a couple of knee X-rays. “How old are you sir? “Ninety.”
If he felt shocked, he didn’t show it. One look at the X-rays was enough for him to know my case was hopeless. “Bone to bone,” he said. “There is no cushion left between your femur and tibia. You shouldn’t be even walking, let alone running. What you need is a complete knee replacement. Your left knee is no better. But considering your age, surgery may not be the best option. I would advise underwater exercises, rest and physiotherapy.”
“But, doctor,” I said, “I am used to running 12 km every morning.” I handed over a copy of an article once published in The Hindu headlined “89,000 Kilometres of Running.” “That figure was ten years ago,” I added, “now my running total stands at 1,15,000 km.”
“All I can say sir,” said the doctor, “is that medical schools would love to do research on your X-rays along with your history of running.” “And,” he added, “Why do you want to run”? Discreetly, he didn’t add “at your age”. “Why? I replied, “To be totally fit.”
This episode made me consider sending a message to all of you to highlight the fact that medical science does not have all the answers to our needs. Doctors are trained to be conservative, not to encourage extraordinary behaviour. But running has been my life, my obsession, for several decades. I don’t remember a single day when I had not run, not during the last many years. I have run within train compartments, in railway stations during the few minutes a train would halt, I have run in ships, I have run in marriage halls, in hospitals and during my children’s weddings. I would have run down the aisle of an aircraft too, except that the stewards would restrain me. I have run many marathons and other ultra-distance running. Once, at the age of 53, I organised a mass running programme and ran from Agra to Delhi in two days.
I can only assume that my continued ability to keep jogging, however slow, is due to the many thousands of days of running over a period of 50 years. I was not an athlete or runner during my younger days. I took up running only in my early forties, to meet up with the physical fitness standards introduced by the Air Force in 1970. So there is hope for those who want to take up running. You can start running at any age. You will be amazed at the progress you can make within a few weeks of starting a running programme.
Fitness has many dimensions; strength, speed, stamina and suppleness are all integral parts of it. But the most important part is cardio-vascular fitness. That is the ability of the heart to pump purified blood to all parts of the body. This important function is carried out by the heart, lungs and blood vessels. And using the big muscles of the leg is the best way to achieve this kind of fitness. Our pre-historic ancestors had to run many times a day, every day, to either hunt for food or to escape from danger. They therefore developed strong hearts, lungs and a robust vascular system. These genes are still in us all, in spite of the passage of millions of years; it only needs to be rekindled by taking to running.
You see, the cells in our body are just molecular particles, doing their assigned tasks. They are not meant to think of anything more than their assigned tasks. They are basically morons. If a 90-year-old person is running, the muscle cells don’t know his age, they just know that someone is running and needs muscular activity. The human being is the ultimate athlete. No animal can match the human being in overall athletic activity. A horse can run but it cannot pole vault. An elephant is strong but it cannot match a human being in high jump. Even leopards and tigers can run fast only for very short distances. They come to a grinding halt due to accumulation of heat. The human body has sweat glands which help dissipate heat and therefore can run very long distances.
When you run regularly, lots of good things happen. You don’t need to diet; you can eat what you like. You sleep well, you don’t fall sick easily, and if you do fall sick, you get advance notice because your body will tell you that all is not well and alert you to an impending viral or other fever. You can then take precautionary measures; reduce your running mileage or even stop running for a day or two. You will notice that you recover faster because you have invested in your fitness. Recently The Hindu published an article in which it was reported that the World Health Organization had come to the conclusion that regular and prolonged exercise contributes to long life. And remember that you can start running at any age.
So, dear readers, take to running, and you would be surprised at the benefits. And avoid the doctors because they will discourage you from piling up running distances, and in any case, you will be so fit that you will hardly need a doctor!
The author is a retired Air Marshal.
pviyer30@yahoo.com
