Crutches (metaphorically speaking)

One side effect of diclofenac is that it can make you feel sick. Thankfully it's not so bad, and I can distract myself easily. But it still makes me wonder how much good these little brown pills do.

I don't like taking medicine if I absolutely don't have to. I want my body to try and fix things on its own, because I believe that this makes it stronger. On the other hand, I'd like my knee to get well as soon as possible, so that I can start running again. But does diclofenac really help in this case? 2 weeks seems like an awful long time to be taking it, especially if you consider that my knee is not swollen (I suppose it is inflamed, although I can't feel it).

Wouldn't my body have managed to deal with the inflammation by itself if I'd given it two weeks without running? Is it worth risking getting a stomach ulcer? Doesn't diclofenac only mask the problem?

It's kind of the same issue for me when it comes to running shoes. All the support that modern shoes offer often mask the problems people have with their running technique and tricks them into thinking they can do more than they actually can. And by ”people” I mean me. That's what happened when I neglected working on my running technique. I kept running long distances with bad technique in my super supportive Kayanos, wearing out my joints, kilometre after kilometre. My VFF haven't seen half as much action as I would have liked. 

So there is an upside to this injury. When I do start running again, I will have to do it almost from scratch. I can't go out there on my first run after almost two months' break and run a marathon. I'll have to slowly build up to it. So what better opportunity to transition to minimalistic footwear than this?