Dealing with Long Term Injury

Long term injury is a pain in all meanings of the word. Whether it is suffered via sport, or completing a simple day-to-day task, it feels like everything that you were working towards or used to doing just suddenly stops.

Now, in January, I suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and two tears in my cartilage playing rugby. I played on for 5 minutes after the incident that caused the initial injury, probably not my best idea, but that evening it was clear the damage caused. My knee blew up to three times the size and walking was next to impossible.

Still went to work on the Monday... On crutches... Didn't get sent home... I'll leave that there...

But what frustrated me the most was the sudden stop from all sport. I couldn't train. I couldn't play. I couldn't gym. At that point, everything that allowed me to relieve stress was gone (little dramatic). End of a week at work, it felt great to just let it all out on the rugby pitch. End of a crappy day at work (they are frequent), the gym was just what I needed.

It has taken me until August to get surgery on this, which makes you feel like you're back to square one. I had spent 6 months walking okay on it and being able to gym as much my body was able to let me. Now, post-surgery, I was back to being unable to walk, work (oh no!) and was having a lot of things done for me.

That sounds great, but believe me, after a few days the novelty wears off and you just wanna start moving properly again. You can't make a sandwich for yourself. You have to decide whether your need for the toilet outweighs the pain it will cause your knee to move. 

The number of dreams I've had about playing rugby, or handball as I did and university (2nd at Nationals - say whaaaaat?!?), is unreal. Just shows how much I want to get back out onto the pitch. But now, it won't be until next season. 

I'm still off work at the moment, which could easily be lazy time. But I've found that with this kind of long term injury, it's just about making the time off productive. My blog rate has gone up considerably, and I'm still working out, even if the leg is taking some time off. 

I hate to sound all hippy, but it's all about thinking positive. Especially with an ACL, it's a matter of resting and letting the healing happen naturally, with a healthy dose of physio rehab. Find something that keeps you interested. A new hobby. 

Exercising doesn't have to stop. Swimming, no matter how boring it is (I could do a whole blog on it), it's a great form of exercise that doesn't cause strain on any injury, and helps it more than anything. 

I've managed to gym pretty solidly since the injury in January to the surgery in August. It's simply a matter of being sensible with what you can and can't do. In terms of ACL, the majority of upper body is fine, but don't go squatting your normal weight. I don't think I need to say why.

The best advice I've had is just to keep doing any exercises you've been given over and over again. The last thing you want is to start to go backwards again - my biggest fear.

All in all, it'll all be worth it in the end. Even if it seems a pain at the moment, it's all for the best in the long run. 

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