Injured!

I dislike being injured, but what I really hate is the recovery period, where I can’t move for fear of aggravating the injury. Begrudgingly, I do everything the doctor asked me too—rest and more rest.

I wait and wait until the day I think I’m ready to start moving again—OUCH.

A horrible pain resonates from the site of injury making me wince. Sighing dejectedly, I concede defeat. Maybe, I’ll wait a couple of more weeks.

I go back to the mundane tasks of icing and stretching and try not to lose hope. But its really hard to be positive all the time. All I can think of is—what if I can never recover? What if I can never dance or run again? All because of one mistake?

My whining catches the ears of my friends, family and physician. All of them tell me not to worry, that all I need to do is wait and trust my body.

It takes a long time before I regain complete strength and movement of the injured part, and when I do, I become particular about not re-injuring myself. I slavishly partake in plenty of warm up exercises and attend all the strengthening classes needed. Not because I am afraid of hurting myself but because I detest waiting to get healed.

 

Exercise can be both fun as well as beneficial. Playing sports, dancing or swimming are some ways to make a work out more interesting. But of course, this opens us up to various injuries.

I’m a fan of Irish step dancing and often partake it myself. I got a nasty quadriceps strain on my left thigh, after a particularly ambitious attempt at a high kick. This single injury sidelined me for two months. It was agony to hear the rousing music and to not be able to dance.

Maybe I should just stick to brisk walking on a treadmill, to get my daily exercise. I reasoned that even though it is monotonous and boring as hell, at least the chances of injury would be reduced. However, I had to concede that an injury may occur at any time and not just while consciously exercising.

A close friend of mine likes to go hiking and rock climbing. He loves the outdoors and goes camping every weekend. But he skidded on the bathroom floor one day and broke his hip. After wrapping him up in bandages the doctor advised bed rest for 4 months. My friend groaned, grumbled and declared that he was tougher than the rest of us mortals.

“I’ll be back hiking by next month!” he said confidently. The doctor thought the optimism was a good thing, but didn’t say it was possible.

He eventually recovered in 3.5 months, and was able to return to his activities. He’s now extra careful going into places with wet floors and hates bathrooms with a vengeance. But otherwise, he’s pretty much the same.

The question is, are you willing to give up something enjoyable, just because you want to play it safe? I think I’d rather risk an injury rather than regret never having tried.

I catch up on my favourite TV shows and get my reading done when injured. Its frustrating to wait, but not unbearable. And when I’m fit again, I realize how much the rest was worth.

Cheers.

P.S. Do you hate waiting too? What do you do to pass the time when injured?

Let me know in the comments below. Thanks  for reading, have a great day ahead. 🙂