Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The value of rest and recovery

My ankle situation got worse!!!  It's nothing terrible, but you would not have convinced me of that when I woke up yesterday morning - felt like I was wearing stiff boots.  It's not my Achilles Tendon (yay!) or the joint (yay!) but just a muscle issue.  I have always had weak ankles and now that I'm older (yes, I'm perfectly, surprisingly comfortable with that fact...) they are really weak.  I found the solution - ice for 10-15 minutes a few times after the run AND STRENGTHEN MY ANKLES.  I have new shoes perfectly fitted for my slight over pronation, so I know I'm good there.  The ice was wonderful.  I did also rest and take the day off completely.  So, this week will be modified.  I will walk 30 minutes today and if I feel good, will attempt the same run from Monday on Thursday, walk again on Friday and again attempt the run on Saturday followed by a day of rest on Sunday.  If all goes well, I will then repeat this week (week 3) next week.  I would much rather get it right then get to running 30 solid minutes in 8 weeks if it means injury.  I did create my own ice pack - works just as well as those sold in the stores, but MUCH cheaper!!!

 Dishwashing liquid into a ziploc bag, fold in half and place in another ziploc and FREEZE!  It stays completely moldable and gel-like but icee cold!!

What types of injuries have you had and how did you deal with them?

1 comment:

  1. Well, in the way of injuries, I'm pretty broken from the waist down. Born with acute dislocation of the patella in both knees. I couldn't understand why my knees didn't improve after ice, bandaging, and over a weeks rest (fell forward on ice twice while trying to learn how to ice skate). So I had x-rays done and found out why. Doc said best thing for me is to keep legs strong; seems I've failed somewhat in that. Also diagnosed over a year ago (same time as Mom) that I have heel spurs and plantar fasciitis. I've bought the expensive shoes and insoles to help with this problem. But being as out of shape and overweight as I am, I can't stand for long periods of time without intense pain. The only remedy I know of is ice and/or hot packs. I specifically bought the moldable, reusable kind.
    Oh yeah, almost forgot. I found out the hard way that I was misdiagnosed when I had my concussion many years ago. They didn't do any imaging on my neck. Just gave me some steroids and pain killers and sent me on my way. It was pointed out to me by a co-worker about 2 years ago that I crack my neck a lot and that's not good. I went to see a specialist and found that, had the hospital done imaging all those years ago, they would have seen it was more than a simple concussion and may have possibly spared me some pain. As it is, I make do with the body I have. Whether the problems stem from not taking care of myself as I got older or something more, I only know I want to be healthy. I'm tired of constant pains and sickness. I hate what I see in the mirror; Gio (God love him) thinks I'm the most beautiful woman on Earth. I hope to one day see myself the same way he does. One day at a time.

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