continuing with the theme
Jul. 21st, 2005 11:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaeclecticI forgot to mention in my earlier post: slept badly due to anxiety about knee pain. That is: woke up at 2-something in the AM, probably due to a restless kitty, and rather than dropping right back off, noticed a twinge in my knee and was immediately wide-awake and panicky.
The facts: I wrenched my ankle a week ago Sunday. It still hurts, not continuously, not in a way that prevents walking at a normal pace, just noticable when I am doing my stretching exercises and at odd moments when I step down harder than normal (for instance, when I come around a corner and almost run into someone, which happens about 5 times a day at the office). In addition, the (typical, not at all unexpected) ripple effect from this is that both of my knees have been aching, again not preventing walking, but I have discomfort e.g. in right knee while driving, or in either knee when trying to sit cross-legged, or (odd but true) in either/both knees when lying down to sleep, for some reason my usual sleep poses seem to involve placing my knees in positions that just don't work well right now. I don't think I've had this much trouble with my knees in months, probably not since well before March when I started thinking about doing the trip to Peru.
More facts: I have reduced my exercise routine somewhat, but not to zero, not even close. I didn't hike last weekend, but I did walk 4+ miles on Sunday, and I've been doing the stationary bike almost every day, and on Monday I even did the elliptical machine at the gym. I honestly don't know whether this is clever or not. I just hate to stop training and let my metabolism start to slow down, unless I am truly incapacitated.
Conjecture: I think my ankle is improving, just slowly. Which is what you'd expect when I'm not really resting it, right? As for the knees, since it started as ripple effect, they should settle down in turn.
Knowing these facts, and believing that things are improving, does not keep my pulse from elevating when I try to decide whether I can hike this weekend, or indeed whether I should go to the gym tonight. Or help me get back to sleep when I'm thinking about it in the middle of the night.
I really, really, really don't want to have to cancel the trip. But I really, really need to be strong enough to do it. Two weeks ago, if the trip had been a week away, I would have thought "well, I wish I was a little more prepared, but it will be OK". Now, if the trip was a week away, I'd have to say I couldn't do it. In fact, the trip is about 2 months away, and if I just let myself heal, everything should be fine.
But I'm still scared.
The facts: I wrenched my ankle a week ago Sunday. It still hurts, not continuously, not in a way that prevents walking at a normal pace, just noticable when I am doing my stretching exercises and at odd moments when I step down harder than normal (for instance, when I come around a corner and almost run into someone, which happens about 5 times a day at the office). In addition, the (typical, not at all unexpected) ripple effect from this is that both of my knees have been aching, again not preventing walking, but I have discomfort e.g. in right knee while driving, or in either knee when trying to sit cross-legged, or (odd but true) in either/both knees when lying down to sleep, for some reason my usual sleep poses seem to involve placing my knees in positions that just don't work well right now. I don't think I've had this much trouble with my knees in months, probably not since well before March when I started thinking about doing the trip to Peru.
More facts: I have reduced my exercise routine somewhat, but not to zero, not even close. I didn't hike last weekend, but I did walk 4+ miles on Sunday, and I've been doing the stationary bike almost every day, and on Monday I even did the elliptical machine at the gym. I honestly don't know whether this is clever or not. I just hate to stop training and let my metabolism start to slow down, unless I am truly incapacitated.
Conjecture: I think my ankle is improving, just slowly. Which is what you'd expect when I'm not really resting it, right? As for the knees, since it started as ripple effect, they should settle down in turn.
Knowing these facts, and believing that things are improving, does not keep my pulse from elevating when I try to decide whether I can hike this weekend, or indeed whether I should go to the gym tonight. Or help me get back to sleep when I'm thinking about it in the middle of the night.
I really, really, really don't want to have to cancel the trip. But I really, really need to be strong enough to do it. Two weeks ago, if the trip had been a week away, I would have thought "well, I wish I was a little more prepared, but it will be OK". Now, if the trip was a week away, I'd have to say I couldn't do it. In fact, the trip is about 2 months away, and if I just let myself heal, everything should be fine.
But I'm still scared.