Two Reactions to a Bad Day

Everyone recovering from orthopedic surgery hits a bad day at some point.

I've had my fair share: the ankle that didn't like the transition out of the boot; the shoulder that protested when it was asked to rotate; the knee that couldn't quite straighten. And I fought against every bad day and setback.

Those setbacks were normal. (Not that normal was ever much comfort.)

I didn't get it at the time, but I now do. What made a difference was how I showed up the next day, in whether I iced my knee like I was supposed to or just sat there sulking on the couch.

Two patterns appear again and again.

• The Overcorrector

  Tuesday was rough. PT hurt more than usual, and the whole day felt off, so Wednesday you're focused about proving that Tuesday was just a fluke. You add in an extra set of reps, and push through the soreness instead of resting. By Wednesday night, you land on the couch, feeling worse than before, wondering what went wrong.

  
  

• The Retreater

  Same rough Tuesday. But this time instead of pushing harder, you shut the whole plan down. No PT exercises, no walk -- nothing until you feel like yourself again, telling yourself you'll pick it back up soon. The problem is that three days later you still don't feel like yourself, and now you've lost the routine you had going.

Both reactions come from the same place, and both are understandable. A bad day feels like proof that something is wrong. And what if something is wrong? We want to fix it, or avoid it. Push harder, or stop completely. Unfortunately, neither one is the answer.

Why This Is Hard

If you've spent much of your life getting rewarded for effort, this pattern makes total sense. Work harder, get better results. That's been true in your job, your training, your workouts.

Recovery doesn't function like that. While something might need tweaking, most of the time a bad day is just that - a bad day. You might even have more than one tough day. However, you can choose what to do next.

Another Option

There's a third option, and it's less dramatic than either overcorrecting or retreating: Adjust the day instead of abandoning it.

If PT was hard, try a shorter version tomorrow instead of skipping it completely. A walk that felt too long yesterday? Cut it in half rather than skipping it entirely. If you had a rough night of sleep, take it at an easier pace for the rest of the day instead of the usual push.

Small adjustments will keep you moving, which is the ultimate goal. You can give your body some space to rest and keep moving forward at a pace your body can handle that day.

After A Setback

Bad days and setbacks are inevitable in recovery, but they don’t define your progress.

What truly matters is how you respond after that.

Instead of overcorrecting or retreating, choose to make small, thoughtful adjustments that keep you moving forward. Recovery isn’t about perfection: it’s about persistence, patience, and the small, consistent steps that lead to lasting change.