I have strained my right MCL. That's apparently a ligament in my knee (I don't remember; I was drunk that day in A & P, I guess) that does something like keep one's knee from bending at some crazy angle toward one's other leg. Mine is strained, not torn, which is a good thing. It means that I can still shop for groceries and do laundry and work, though I do all those things with a limp and a pronounced disinclination to squat, and it also means that I won't need surgery.
It happened like this: I had just gotten out of a nice, hard 30-minute workout on the treadmill and exercise bike, and spotted my buddy Bunsen. Bunsen's half Golden Retriever and half Traveling Salesman, as Mom would say, and is about a year old and about 80 pounds. He's also enthusiastic about playing Chase The Ball And Then Tackle The Human. We played Try To Tackle The Human for about twenty minutes, during which time I had to feint repeatedly to each side...while wearing my MBTs.
When you buy the things, they come with a little booklet that cautions you to be careful of doing things that require lots of feinting to each side. They also caution you against doing things that require a combination of balance and weight, like lunges. What they don't caution you against is being a blasted idiot, so of course I went out and was a blasted idiot.
The chief of the ortho department's reaction was this: "Dude. Bummer. A week or two. Ice. Bummer." (Yes, he really talks that way.) Chef Boy's reaction was this: "Wow, that was stupid." (Yes, he's really that supportive and gentle.) Chef Boy did provide me with an ice pack and some ibuprofen last night, though, and I was able to head out and pick up coffee and bread today. I'm going to spend the rest of the day icing this dadratted knee off and on and reading fashion magazines.
Tomorrow starts a week of intensive upper-body training and, I guess, very little in the way of aerobic exercise. I suppose I'll have to wrap my leg, or something, to provide extra stability while I'm wandering around work.
Take-home from this experience: Do not, under any circumstances, no matter how happy he is to see you, play with a puppy pal while wearing your MBTs. Run home and change your shoes first.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
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6 comments:
Two more things that don't mix: ibuprofen and alcohol. I'm just sayin.'
At least you're exercising. I'm just lying in one place thinking about exercising.
Jo - speaking as a olde orthopedic nurse, if you possibly can, wear shoes with a bit of a heel lift, maybe a half to three-quarters of an inch. This alters the angle of the standing leg, eases the pressure on the MCL and allows it to heal faster. But ice and rest are definitely in order the first few days. And stop bending to the puppy's rules; make him bend to yours!
I fool them all. I don't even wear shoes. Shoes drain you of the natural essence.
Must be a bad month for knees.
My middle child blew out his ACL a few weeks ago. He'll be having surgery some time next month.
I have no clue how I did it, but somehow I've managed to exacerbate an old football injury. Touch football, it was supposed to be. Working 12 hour shifts in the NICU isn't doing it much good, but the Relafen my doc prescribed is helping lots. I did opt to "rest" it by saying "NO" every time I was invited to work overtime this week, though.
Yeah, consider this an added "owww" from me. I've had knee and ankle problems all my life, so I'm feeling for you right now..
And, for what its worth, despite what the doc said, an MCL strain is a worthy excuse for goofing of....I mean, calling in to work....
ROTFLMAO! You go girl!
You know it's almost July.
We get all the new residents in July. We get train them again! yipee skipy!
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