Spa Talk 9.

Wednesday, February 5, 2026.

Another beautiful winter day in San Diego, sunny skies, 72°F temperature. I had checked in at my local YMCA and got a pass for the 10:15 am aquafit class from reception. I had about half an hour before my class would begin. I decided to kill the time till then in one of the two spas. This week the spas had reopened after a two-month hiatus, required for resurfacing the surfaces of the spas. The regulars from the aquafit classes and the swimmers were glad to have their spots for relaxation back.

There chose the spa with only one other person in it. He was a short stocky man, retired from a technology firm, let’s call him A. He is a regular attendant at aquafit where he goes with his wife, still working part time. We greeted each other like long-time acquaintances. “You’re taking the next aquafit class, “the one that Cynthia teaches, I asked him. “No, I took Holly’s class.” But she is still teaching it,” I remarked, glancing at the indoor pool. “I took half of the class, I got out of the pool when my knee started to bother me,” he said.

He lifted up his right leg and showed the brace around his knee. “I took two classes today, but when I felt pain in my knee, I felt I should stop. So, I cut it short. My doctor told me that I could do my water workout, but should ease off if I started to hurt.”

“What’s happened to your knee”, I asked. “Worn cartilage? At that point we were joined by two other aquafit regulars, R., a retired nurse, in her seventies, and Steve, a mostly retired physicist who had turned eighty recently.

Hearing that A. had a knee issue, R. related her own experience from a knee replacement she had in October of last year. “How are you doing?” A. asked. Mostly ok, but I take it easy with exercise. A few aquafit classes a week and light workouts in the e-gym.

The e-gym is a series of structured exercises on weight machines and cardio equipment that are timed and are recorded. The person doing them is monitored and coached to achieve predetermined fitness goals.

A. mentioned that his orthopedic surgeon had told him that he was not an immediate candidate for a knee replacement since the cartilage on his knee was largely intact. “I was on vacation in Baja California and had lifted my leg on an elevation and tried to lift myself up. I heard a pop and felt a stinging pain in my knee. I went to the emergency service of a local hospital. They did X-rays which showed that a piece of bone in the knee area, attached to a tendon had broken off. It would grow back in place given time and avoiding undue loads. So, no knee replacement for me at this time, I cross my fingers.”

“For me, knee replacement was easier than I feared,” R. said. “I was off crutches very soon. But then other people with similar operations recounted their stories, and they seemed to have a much harder time recovering. Frankly, I hated listening to them since it was so depressing.”

“You can’t avoid other people’s stories since telling about your experience invites others to tell theirs.” It was S.’s moment to chime in. “I’ve had both knees replaced and one of my hips. I was scheduled to have a revision on one knee two days from now, but my surgeon needed surgery himself, on his neck. So, tens of patients’ surgeries will have to be rescheduled and I don’t know when my operation will take place. It’s hard to plan other activities such as vacations.”

“I hope I don’t need a revision any time soon. But my other knee is starting to bother me. For the time being my orthopedic surgeon is injecting a lubricating fluid in the knee area.”
Like Synvisc?” I asked, remembering injections I received with this hyaluronan synthetic analog in my left hip, a year prior to hip resurfacing surgery in 2007.” “No, but similar,” R. said. “I was scared and almost fainted. They put me on my back and gave me a relaxant. It wasn’t so bad after all. But I may have to come back for repeat injections.” “They are usually good for three to six months, I commented.” “I was told to come back in three months or whenever the pain is coming back to the current level.

Some other people started to come into the spa. It was time for my aquafit class. Talk about one’s ailments is not uncommon among the spa- and aquafit goers, given that many of the are at an age where osteoarthritic joint problems are common. You have a good chance when you visit the spa you end up listening to stories about people’s aches and pains in the knees, hips, shoulders or lower backs. And you can add your own story if you so choose.

MvR – February 8, 2026. ✍️