At the age of 29, the author started running to feel stronger, but after two days his knee swelled and the pain forced him to stop. Even with prescribed ibuprofen, he needed a knee brace to walk a block or two and stopped running for fear of pain. Stiffness and pain in the knee persisted for many years, sometimes mild, sometimes debilitating. Gradually pain also appeared in the back, hip joint, neck and shoulder. Doctors ran X-rays, MRIs and lab tests that revealed mild to moderate osteoarthritis in the joints, but ruled out autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or Lyme disease. The author felt and moved like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. He consulted many doctors, but no one could find the cause.