When Your Knees File for Early Painful Retirement
Ever heard of a game called “Dance Dance Revolution”? For a good chunk of millennials, the name might’ve evoked a feeling of nostalgia not so dissimilar to a punch to the gut. For anyone not too familiar with the name (or was born well into the 2010’s), DDR (as it was often abbreviated to) referred to these large Arcade machines attached to a platform that had light up arrows that one would step on in accordance to whatever eurobeat-japanime song was chosen while playing. There was a time, not so long ago, that those machines were in every mall, arcade, and movie theater.
It wasn’t surprising because it tended to be a spectacle no matter how good any particular player was. Most would simply give it a shot because it looked new and interesting, tentatively tapping the arrows as they aligned with the cut outs at the top of the screen. The true crowd draw came whenever someone who knew what they were doing came to play. Suddenly it wasn’t just one or two arrows on screen at a time – it was a seemingly illegible mess that looked less like a video game and more like Jackson Pollock decided to give directions. And anyone crazy enough to choose those settings tended to blur over the floor pad, drenched in sweat, and usually had three water bottles in reserve next to the machine.
Back at the start of the new millennium, I was one of those plucky kids attracting crowds with my amazing (not) dancing skills. Thanks to the fact that I had the console version of DDR at home, I never had to look down to see where my feet needed to go. The eleven year old version of me spent the early 2000’s in several arcades with my friends, a well worn pair of shoes on my feet, and a boundless level of energy that was a combination of bewildering and enviable even to my peers.
Fast forward a quarter of a century later, and my knees and I are still cursing the naivety of the young and dumb version of me. My formative years were spent not only stomping on semi-sensitive metal buttons, but also ballroom dancing and practicing martial arts. Even without the latter two activities, I stomped on a lot of arrows in my youth.
To give you an idea of how often I beat up my knees, one need only look at the particulars of one of my all time favorite songs in the Dance Dance Revolution discography. It’s called Tomorrow by nc featuring Dreamscanner, and it’s not the fastest of songs at 140 bpm, but it was a fun one. When played, it lasted for only a minute and thirty-four seconds. Not very long at all, until one realized that at the most difficult setting the song had 290 arrows to hit on beat. That’s an average of three stomps a second! Faster or more strenuous songs had even more arrows to hit. I played this game pretty extensively for about a decade and a half.
It’s 2025 now and stairs are my kryptonite. Bending my knees to get at my printer is a trial, in and of itself. And if I so much as look at a rhythm game, my whole body gets PTSD and starts screaming at me “don’t even try it!”
The problem comes from the fact that I still need to use my knees! They’re not retired – they’re just tired! But after a lifetime of abuse, my first inclination is to avoid stressing them at all.
So what can I do? Do I just do the bare minimum so they don’t get worse? They’re already in bad shape, how much of an impact can they already have?
How Bad Knees Can Negatively Impact Your Life
Our knees are some of the hardest-working joints in the body. From walking and climbing stairs to bending and lifting, they support our movement day in and day out. So when knee pain strikes, it’s no surprise that it can have a huge ripple effect on your quality of life. Aches and pains aren’t exclusive to those in their twilight years, at nearly 35 I’ve found myself experiencing issues well before I thought I would.
Every time I crouch down, I can not only feel my knees creaking – I can hear them too! I know so many people who walk with a cane, and the struggles they deal with to even grab an item off the ground. To lose the ability to even independently bend down is unfathomable to me, but I witness this in so many people older than me. The creaky knees are just the warning signs before even being able to bend down becomes an issue.
And just because I hate that it’s happening doesn’t mean I can just stop moving altogether. If I start to limit my overall physical activity, then I risk weakening the muscles and making things worse. I risk gaining weight by not being active, putting even more pressure on my knees as the lack of movement also chips away at my flexibility in the joints. The National Institute of Health has done studies showing that doing proper exercise can help with things like Knee Osteoarthritis.
If I decide to only do the bare minimum to keep things from getting worse, I still have to deal with the chronic pain and fatigue from the current level of deterioration in my knees. It may not seem like much in short spans of time, but over the long term a case of bad knees can really wear down on a person. When someone is unable to do something that they were very capable of before, it can be depressing and discouraging.
The worst possible situation is that poor knee condition leads to a fall and further injury. This has the potential to severely impact the ability to even work and may pose a threat to one’s livelihood.
There is no way to Rewind Time
It’s 2025, and my knees are not what they once were. But I’m also not a plucky teenager, and arcades aren’t as prevalent as they used to be. That doesn’t mean I can’t strive for better than what I’ve had to deal with. My knees deserve better than what I’ve done to them.
Maybe yours do too.
Let Us Help You Get Back on Your Feet—Naturally
At Best Medical Acupuncture Clinic in Paramus, NJ, we understand how debilitating knee pain can be because it robs you of your life. Everyday simple tasks now take an extreme effort to perform and the days start to revolve around the bad knees. People start to wonder- can I actually go on this cruise, or can I walk around the park and enjoy the beautiful spring scenery. These worries become real and it’s a tough decision to make.
We want to let you know that it does not have to be that way and we are here to help.
Our personalized treatments are designed to reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and support the body’s natural healing processes—without drugs or invasive procedures.
One of our patients had difficulty walking into the clinic. She complained that it was one of her “bad knee days” and the throbbing pain radiated downwards to her shin, worse upon performing squats, much less walking.
However, during the treatment, she felt absolutely no pain at all! She even started to question her pain- was she imagining the pain that she was feeling?
Many of our patients have found lasting relief from chronic knee pain through Best Medical Acupuncture Clinic. Whether your knee issues are due to arthritis, injury, or overuse, our experienced team is here to support your journey back to mobility and comfort so you can start designing the life you want.
📍 Visit us at:
140 NJ-17, Suite 206, Paramus, NJ 07652
📞 Call to book your appointment: 201-565-1778
🌐 Learn more at: bestmedacu.com
Don’t let knee pain restrict what you want to do in your life. Schedule your consultation today and take the first step toward better movement and better living!