I returned from a very active week in Switzerland with painful pudding knee which was so swollen that I couldn't straighten it when walking, cue the piratical lurch in and out of the waiting room. Poor knee, I really had pushed a lot of work onto it, although I must confess I'm not sure what specifically had caused the damage. I'd like to blame the endless snaking up and down the queues at Geneva airport (a pet hate) but that was 24 hours after I'd noticed the distress calls from my brain about the joint.

 I limped into work to a suitable amount of sympathy and a few observations that I was hardly a good advert but this last is what I would like to address. I followed my own advice and kept my hot poorly knee cool and treated it with respect. Although I had to work I looked after it. My fantastic colleague treated the biomechanics of the surrounding joints and reminded me that our tissues are designed to heal. We also decided that this was probably a time when anti-inflammatories might be useful. (I took these for 48 hours but stopped when my mouth started to feel sore in that just about to start a mouth ulcer way) I started some gentle stretching and allowed rest periods, made sure that my diet was good and included some good proteins and plenty of fluid.

 The point? I was back running in a week. Injuries happen, especially when we push ourselves, but we are amazing, we are self healers. Don't send the bit that is struggling to Coventry, nurture it, treat it, live alongside it and then once it's healed start the real work. That's the dull bit, remedial exercise, here I come.