Issues with injuries...
So as you may know by now I'm currently recovering from my ruptured Achilles tendon injury (to see how it happened read this blog post, to see how I'm progressing check this one out). The rehab is going well so far, the specialist was happy with what she saw and the pain has decreased which is a good sign. But that doesn't mean it has been all smooth sailing.
Injuries come with their fair share of associated problems, so I thought I'd outline a few of the ones I've been facing and how I've dealt with them, in no particular order of importance.
Firstly, pain. Now there wasn't a whole lot of pain in the first week, which lulled me into a false sense of security to be honest. Then the second week arrived, and the pain levels increased dramatically. Now, I was prescribed some fairly good pain medication - Tramadol being the most effective (I got the option of getting Codeine but that messes me up in ways which I won't go into here).
I am not a big fain of being on painkillers, especially Tramadol as it makes me really drowsy, but there's a balance to be considered. If you've had any type of knee or ankle injury you'll know what a pain in the ass it is trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in, and that's not even taking into account having a cast on. Plus there is the ongoing pain throughout the day that is a constant annoyance.
So I decided to just suck it up and take the pills, although I restricted it as much as possible to before bed to help me sleep and in the morning to help dull the pain that getting vertical seemed to bring on. Now medication is a personal thing, so my advice is to follow what the doctors say, they always know best, the above is just what I felt worked for me which I did discuss with my doctor and nurse.
Another part of the pain factor that happens on crutches is your body adjusting to being on crutches. It seems like a simple transition to make, it isn't. Not if you are on them long term anyway. Firstly my hands started hurting, which I had expected would happen (from previous injuries), so I wrapped tea towels around the handles and that took care of that.
Next came the hip and quad pain in my "good" leg. My body just wasn't used to working unilaterally (on one leg). It was probably my own fault for getting up too much, but the boredom is immense (which I will deal with soon) when sitting at home resting on your own.
I found that keeping my weekly Pilates session with my excellent instructor Carolyn helped me work through some of these issues, so I would definitely recommend it if you are in a similar position.
Now that we have dealt with pain, let's deal with boredom. Again, like pain the first week was fine, a mate dropped me off a while heap of movies and I burnt a hole through Netflix and Lightbox when I wasn't sleeping due to the meds and my body needing to rest and heal. But come the second week that all got a little old.
So I started using the opportunity to get some stuff done I had been putting off - search engine optimisation for my website, reading some research I hadn't had time to when I was on two functional feet, and some reading of the 4 books I had left over from my Christmas holidays. Also, I had a semi-steady stream of people calling to chat, dropping around wanting to help out, or just visit which was great. So this helped, but the biggest advice I could give is to find stuff to do to occupy your brain otherwise if you are like me you will go mad sitting on the couch!
Another issue that has plagued me in the past while rehabbing injuries is depression, or a better definition would be frustration, as having suffered from clinical depression it doesn't fall into that category. But it can be very frustrating to have to sit on your backside every day with not a whole lot to do and nowhere to go, and (during the day at least) noone to talk to. Especially when your day is normally filled with going places and talking to people. And at some points I have been angry and frustrated to the point of wanting to scream, especially when thinking of how much progress I had been making with my training and how far I had come in the last year.
I have a plan this time around though. I've allowed myself 5-10 minutes to be pissed off and then told myself to get over it and do something to take my mind off things. Write a blog post, do some work on my website, watch a movie, read a book, something, just don't dwell on the frustration. I know myself well enough that I can be miserable to be around when I am in that frame of mind so I limit my periods of frustration to when my family is not around so that they can cope with me being injured a little more easily. My wife is already helping me enough and essentially solo parenting at the moment so she doesn't need me adding to her stress!
For all of the above, one of the best ways to get through these sorts of injuries is to focus on what you can do rather than what you can't do. Find ways to exercise - you can still work your core and your upper body even if you have a leg injury, and vice versa. Just find things to do, once my cast comes off and I can weight bear in a couple of weeks I will be in the pool swimming to get some form of training in even though I can't lift weights or train Krav Maga.
It's all about finding ways to work through your issues and get the support that you need. If you have any tips for me in how to rehab well and avoid issues I'd love to hear them, contact me through my website. Lastly, I apologise for this blog being a bit of a ramble and rant, but it has helped me pass another morning, so thank you for helping me with my rehab!
Injuries come with their fair share of associated problems, so I thought I'd outline a few of the ones I've been facing and how I've dealt with them, in no particular order of importance.
Firstly, pain. Now there wasn't a whole lot of pain in the first week, which lulled me into a false sense of security to be honest. Then the second week arrived, and the pain levels increased dramatically. Now, I was prescribed some fairly good pain medication - Tramadol being the most effective (I got the option of getting Codeine but that messes me up in ways which I won't go into here).
I am not a big fain of being on painkillers, especially Tramadol as it makes me really drowsy, but there's a balance to be considered. If you've had any type of knee or ankle injury you'll know what a pain in the ass it is trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in, and that's not even taking into account having a cast on. Plus there is the ongoing pain throughout the day that is a constant annoyance.
So I decided to just suck it up and take the pills, although I restricted it as much as possible to before bed to help me sleep and in the morning to help dull the pain that getting vertical seemed to bring on. Now medication is a personal thing, so my advice is to follow what the doctors say, they always know best, the above is just what I felt worked for me which I did discuss with my doctor and nurse.
Another part of the pain factor that happens on crutches is your body adjusting to being on crutches. It seems like a simple transition to make, it isn't. Not if you are on them long term anyway. Firstly my hands started hurting, which I had expected would happen (from previous injuries), so I wrapped tea towels around the handles and that took care of that.
Next came the hip and quad pain in my "good" leg. My body just wasn't used to working unilaterally (on one leg). It was probably my own fault for getting up too much, but the boredom is immense (which I will deal with soon) when sitting at home resting on your own.
I found that keeping my weekly Pilates session with my excellent instructor Carolyn helped me work through some of these issues, so I would definitely recommend it if you are in a similar position.
Now that we have dealt with pain, let's deal with boredom. Again, like pain the first week was fine, a mate dropped me off a while heap of movies and I burnt a hole through Netflix and Lightbox when I wasn't sleeping due to the meds and my body needing to rest and heal. But come the second week that all got a little old.
So I started using the opportunity to get some stuff done I had been putting off - search engine optimisation for my website, reading some research I hadn't had time to when I was on two functional feet, and some reading of the 4 books I had left over from my Christmas holidays. Also, I had a semi-steady stream of people calling to chat, dropping around wanting to help out, or just visit which was great. So this helped, but the biggest advice I could give is to find stuff to do to occupy your brain otherwise if you are like me you will go mad sitting on the couch!
Another issue that has plagued me in the past while rehabbing injuries is depression, or a better definition would be frustration, as having suffered from clinical depression it doesn't fall into that category. But it can be very frustrating to have to sit on your backside every day with not a whole lot to do and nowhere to go, and (during the day at least) noone to talk to. Especially when your day is normally filled with going places and talking to people. And at some points I have been angry and frustrated to the point of wanting to scream, especially when thinking of how much progress I had been making with my training and how far I had come in the last year.
I have a plan this time around though. I've allowed myself 5-10 minutes to be pissed off and then told myself to get over it and do something to take my mind off things. Write a blog post, do some work on my website, watch a movie, read a book, something, just don't dwell on the frustration. I know myself well enough that I can be miserable to be around when I am in that frame of mind so I limit my periods of frustration to when my family is not around so that they can cope with me being injured a little more easily. My wife is already helping me enough and essentially solo parenting at the moment so she doesn't need me adding to her stress!
For all of the above, one of the best ways to get through these sorts of injuries is to focus on what you can do rather than what you can't do. Find ways to exercise - you can still work your core and your upper body even if you have a leg injury, and vice versa. Just find things to do, once my cast comes off and I can weight bear in a couple of weeks I will be in the pool swimming to get some form of training in even though I can't lift weights or train Krav Maga.
It's all about finding ways to work through your issues and get the support that you need. If you have any tips for me in how to rehab well and avoid issues I'd love to hear them, contact me through my website. Lastly, I apologise for this blog being a bit of a ramble and rant, but it has helped me pass another morning, so thank you for helping me with my rehab!
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