I may look young, but my body feels very old sometimes. I woke up this morning with a stiff lower back and knee instability that always rears its ugly head first thing in the morning. As I was walking to the bathroom in a hunched position, with one hand on my back, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Who am I, a 70 year old Grandma walking around a nursing home?!It was comical almost, except I was still wincing too much to chuckle.
The truth of the matter is, I don't remember the last time my body felt completely good, I've just begun to measure how I feel in terms of it not being so bad. I saw the doctor yesterday and I was rambling off the body parts I was having issues with... my left shin that has such bad shin splints I wince from the slightest touch...my right knee that basically has arthritis and is very temperamental in the morning, but also when I jump and it just decides to buckle and not cooperate when it needs to, which is understandable seeing as how it's missing a chunk of cartilage...my shoulder that almost came out of the socket the other day during lifting that happened to be the opposite shoulder of the one I dislocated a few years ago... . But I followed up this list, with I'm feeling pretty good right now.
And in the crazy world that I live in, that's actually the truth. If my shin splints turn to a stress fracture, that will be trouble. If pieces of cartilage break off again and cause my knee to lock and be inoperable, I'd be out of commission. If my shoulder had actually dislocated and I had to wear that awful sling for six weeks, I'd be really bummed since that's my writing hand and such. But aches and soreness are par for the course. And these little issues I'm experiencing just need to be controlled so that they don't turn into something really problematic.
Athletes control the pain, but we never really expect to be pain free. I don't remember what that even feels like, and by the time I'm done beating my body up, I may never know. I'm on my way to the athletic training room before practice so I can tape things back in place, put a heating pad on my back, and do some quick rehab exercises before I go to work. And today I feel pretty good...
5 comments:
Hi, Brianna! It's Batman (Joe). I just wanted to tell you to hang in there. I had always been athletic and active and I somehow escaped my sports playing years without any injuries, besides a sprain or two. Then out of nowhere, my old ass (39) developed a lumbar problem and needed surgery. I never had a back problem, I'm still strong and healthy, and I don't know how it happened. I'm finally feeling like my old self and my doctor, who was head of Neurosurgery at John Hopkins and treats many Ravens football players, tells me that I can still perform the way that I used to. Now that's just me. I'm much older than you, and more so, you put your body through extreme performance. You are an elite athlete. You are on the fringe of the limitation of the human body. You look amazing and your performance is amazing. Keep up the great work. My only advise to you, and I think that you already know this, is to stay balanced. I know that you will push yourself and your body, just make sure that you reward your body with nutrition, rest, and some pampering. I can't imagine the pain and discomfort that you must experience and even harder play through, but good luck. Wishing you much happiness, good health and success. Thanks of being a friend. Take care.
My son has the same problem....
...wakes up each morning with a stiff lower...... that always rears its ugly head first thing in the morning. Every morning without regard for anyone else he walks to the bathroom in a hunched position, with one hand on his.....
His Mom and I are thinking of having him fixed like we did the cocker spanial. I supose as long as he doesn't start licking himself we can tolerate him a bit longer until he can find someone to love him. We pray.
Ms. Glenn,
Stop fallin’ down the stairs!
Aww! You could flip this over and make it into advice for someone! I waited all of XC season for track to start injury free. No care in the world. First indoor track meet and my knee decided it was going to give out. Crazy. But bring on the pain >_<
Hi Brianna: Would it be ok if I print this pain management post out and share it with my athletes so that they can understand that we all push through something?
I remember the same feeling when I was competing!
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