Richard Hogan: My painful reminder that men need to take self-care seriously

A recent injury forced Richard Hogan from the road to the gym... and then on to crutches. It proved a wake-up call for his health

'I caught a glimpse of myself on the elliptical and thought, this is what middle age looks like.' Picture: iStock

Ah, the male psyche. It’s something to behold.

For months, I could tell there was something up with my knee. It felt weird as I ran the roads, almost like my kneecap was moving and grinding off cartilage.

It didn’t stop me running, though. ‘I’ll just run it off’, that’s what I told myself, as I jiggled it around a bit. Denial is a cruel thing.

But in the last number of weeks, it became sore enough that I did stop road running, thinking I’d just give it a little break and then I’d be good as gold.

I went to the gym instead. Awkwardly walking around, not sure of what to do. All the beautiful young people on their phones, lifting weights, taking pics of themselves, recording their work-outs; it’s a brave new world out there.

I’ve never really been a gym guy, more a road-running and sea-swimming type of guy. But times are a changin’.

I caught a glimpse of myself on the elliptical and thought; ‘This is what middle age looks like’. No more fast running, no more triumphant waving to the neighbours as I whizz by, just arms flailing and low-impact activities on the joints with water and towel as props.

I’ll have to start taking vids of myself on the elliptical for Instagram, that will grow the page!

Richard Hogan: 'I think we need to change the whole narrative around men’s health.'

I have always loved road running, it has been great for my mental health, to come home tired after a long day’s work and run 5k. I don’t have to get ready or worry what I look like, just throw on some runners and off you go. I’d feel born again after it. Ready for anything, and it helped keep the old middle-age girth at bay too.

Now, I find myself on crutches and unable to walk properly. My knee has swollen up and I can’t put pressure on it. I blame the bloody elliptical. I was fine until I went on that soul-crushing, ego-dismantling thing. Again, I know what delusion sounds like.

Two weeks ago, I went to the doctor about the swelling in my knee, I got a cortisone injection into it, quite the painful experience, I can tell you. I bravely watched my wife give birth to our three children, so I know pain, and that injection was not pleasant, but the swelling went down. The doctor did tell me: "Make sure and rest that knee."

The next day, I was strolling around Boston Common taking in the delights of early spring. Revelling in the fact I could, once again, bend my knee.

When I got back to Ireland, I didn’t stop my busy schedule, I just kept going. Hoping things would stay reasonably OK. I even started cutting some wood for the fire. What a man.

I’m good with physical pain, I can take a fair amount of it without really paying too much attention to it. Probably the reason I am in my current predicament.

The knee has now swollen more than it was before the injection. And I’m laid up with it. Idiot. The elliptical seems like Everest right now. Making tea is like a contact sport. Every step, agony.

I can see my wife looking at me with some empathy, while also holding back, “I told you so”. I never gave her such looks when she was giving birth, I supportively offered a cold cloth. No such offer for me.

The reason I’m regaling you with my tales of woe is because men are not very good at looking after their own health. I never go to the GP, and I am not one to take pain medication, or any other type of medication, when it is clearly required.

But I think we need to raise more awareness around men’s health. Because men do not really talk about their health. Men are more likely to develop bowel cancer than women, yet only one in four take up the first bowel screen invitation. Why is that? There does seem to be a cultural stigma around men talking about their health.

Maybe we see it as weakness? I’m not sure. But I think we need to change the whole narrative around men’s health.

Men have significantly higher death rates from heart disease than women — in some countries, men’s cardiovascular mortality is almost double that of women. Overall cancer mortality is higher in men than women.

So raising awareness about the importance of talking about our health and when to seek medical intervention is an important campaign we need to launch in Ireland. It could literally save lives.

Have I had a bowel screening yet? No. But I intend to take it up now and to take my health a bit more seriously.

I have been very fortunate up until this point in my life not to really have had any medical issues, but I am moving into my 50s and I have just had the first amber flag fired to say: ‘Get a good GP and take your health seriously by visiting your doctor more regularly’.

A friend of mine, Karina Healy, works in the Bons, and the advice and help she has given me over the few days was incredible. She did warn me already I needed a good GP — pity she didn’t warn me about the elliptical.