I have a friend with whom I used to go riding at least once a week. Lately, I have kinda been avoiding riding with him. Every ride involves long, detailed discussions of his various ailments. And, detailed stories of his visits to the doctor, and what happened at the pharmacy. This treatment versus that treatment. Boring at best. Depressing at worst.

And, on the whole, his health is as good as most guys born during the Truman era. His health allowed him to ride his bike more than 300 days last year. Lots of teen-agers would be be happy to be as healthy or as fit as this guy.

It is productive to ask: "how can I set up my bike to reduce stress on my hands and wrists?" It is NOT productive to endlessly complain about the pain, while not really seeking any solutions.

I have been VERY lucky with my health. My only good opportunity to "whine" came after an auto accident damaged my back. Terrible pain. Could not use one arm. Could not use one leg. I quickly discovered none of my friends wanted to hear about it. I was a bit stung by their intense lack of interest in my suffering...but...I have never been much interested in hearing about THEIR suffering either.

So, I would hope people feel free to ask "Does treatment A seem to help a swollen knee better than treatment B?" But, I suspect there is not a lot of interest in just hearing complaints about swollen knees, unrelated to a search for solutions.