What do you call a man with no arms or legs??
Do you ever feel like you’re the butt-end of a bad joke? This story might help you feel better…
I wanna live a healthy lifestyle… You know, read enlightening books, exercise, eat right, love on my kids and hubby, and invest in life-giving relationships with other healthy people.
And then I do something like try racquetball.
Long story short… I was 6 weeks (or so) in to a new found love of racquetball. One night per week with a friend… we embraced the masculine energy of the sport, and got our hearts pumping with some solid cardio. Then, as I ran and jumped through the air to hit the ball – upon landing – I felt “pop.” Some weird pulling sensation in my knee.
Crap.
So, I took it easy for a while… trying 30 minutes instead of an hour. However, I soon realized that between my lower back injury and hurting knee, it probably wasn’t the best use of my physical energy. One trip the orthopedic doc confirmed that I should stick with something less risky, given the rapid pace and twisting/turning that is required in the racquetball court.
A while back we had a sports-bump-belly-jump good time playing wallyball with some friends. Since racquetball was now on hold, I figured I’d give wallyball another try. This time without the kids… just some good ol’ 2 on 2. It was fun, and proved to be a decent cardio workout – until “crack!” went the elbow!
Seriously?! Are you kidding me?!
Not sure I’ve mentioned it, but I had a mountain biking accident back in college. I fractured my right elbow and have spent the past 20 years with an arm that won’t go totally straight. It’s at about a 45 degree angle when I lay it out on a table. Somehow during a pretty intense volley while playing wallyball, I hyperextended my arm. (meaning for a second it popped straight). Needless to say, this was as pleasant as chewing on foil while listening to nails scrape against a blackboard.
Ugh!
For the past 2 months, I’ve been nursing a sore elbow.
What does a girl have to do to exercise?
Don’t get me wrong, I love to walk and hike, but there are times I wanna play sports with the cool kids.
I embraced my limitations and opted to start going on some extended walks with a friend. I did the Avon walk a few years ago and completed 28 miles in 2 days. I figured, what could be the harm in doing 4-7 miles on some Sunday afternoons. Since I’ve been walking longer distances, I’ve been having severe soreness on the balls of my feet.
Ouch!
Seemed logical to visit the podiatrist just to see what is going on. Come to find out, I have a condition called “crossover toe.”
Seriously? I can’t make this stuff up!
So, he’s given me a brace for two toes on my left foot, and prescribed some inserts for my shoes. We’ll see how that goes.
In the meantime, I’ve found a new sport called Pickleball. It’s a cardio sport that falls somewhere between ping-pong and tennis. It’s played on a large court (tennis or basketball) with a hefty woofle-type ball. We tried it out last night, and I think there is hope for me.
Of course, after 90 minutes of play, the balls of my feet were on fire and my “crossover toes” were very sore!
Ibuprofen and ice. Ibuprofen and ice…
I’m in a sports-pickle.
Pickleball: All the cool kids are playing it!
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© 2013, The Musing Maven, all rights reserved.
The Musing Maven 
Yes! Try it! There’s also ongoing Wednesday nights over summer.
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A little more than a decade ago I worked as a personal trainer. I would advise clients to find an activity they enjoyed doing. Gym workouts are not the answer for everyone. I have to say I admire your determination to play sports despite the unexpected challenges you (no pun intended) ran into. I think you may just need to limit the time you play until your body gets used to the new range of motion you’re trying out. Keep playing and enjoy, exercise should be fun. If all else fails, there’s always Zumba dancing.
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