Medical Monday--A Broken Leg, A Broken Head And An Update

   Okay, it's been awhile since I've posted here so there's some catching up to do!
   First of all, it wasn't my broken leg! I was hiking about a month ago in Komoka Park when I came across a young lady holding a couple of horses. You will occasionally see horses in Komoka but when I walked around her I spotted this other young lady lying on the ground. To make a long story short, she had been trying to ride her horse up an icy trail, the horse had slipped, she fell under the horse and her leg broke!
   

Where the horse landed on the woman. We think
her leg might have ended up between the horse
and that sharp rock you see in the middle of
the pic, causing  her leg to break.

Another couple of hikers came along and we stayed with her while one of her friends tethered the remaining horses and the other friend rode off to meet the EMS people at the park entrance. Eventually, nine firefighters and paramedics showed up and managed to get her on a stretcher and out of the park.
   Fortunately, this is the only time I've run into a situation like this but I do quite often think about something similar happening to me (likely minus the horse) while I'm out on my own, either hiking or running. In light of this, I am actively trying to decide whether a cell phone is enough of a safety net or whether some kind of beacon device might be in order.

My broken head, post-surgery.

   The broken head is mine however. You might remember awhile back when I told you I'd been diagnosed with a spot of skin cancer on my left temple. Well, two weeks ago I went in for day surgery and had it removed. I think it was likely the least painful procedure I've ever had done and I need to go back in about a week and find out whether they got all of it or whether they need to do a little more digging. Fingers crossed but I'm not too worried!
    If anyone still cares about my right knee, it's feeling better but still not 1oo%. We are having a massive ice storm in London this weekend, otherwise I'd planned on getting out and giving the knee a real test (my fears be damned) but, alas, unable to. Allison, my physiotherapist, keeps telling me there's nothing structurally wrong with it and that I should truly test it but the psychological end of it throws me. Okay, maybe when the ice is gone....
   On Monday of last week, something kind of cool happened. I had been contacted by a local blogger friend, Heather, from Explorationproject , who asked if I was interested in meeting her on the Thames Valley Trail and filming a segment dedicated to the Trail. I kind of jumped at the opportunity and so we arranged to meet at the aforesaid Komoka Provincial Park, which is part of the trail. We then spent about an hour walking and talking and filming. Heather is this amazing blogger who has hiked and explored all over North America and we ran across each other last year when we both realized we were hiking the trail at more or less the same time. She currently has become interested in vlogging and wanted to practise on me, so why not? 
   About three weeks ago I had an interesting appointment with my chiropractor, Zeinin. We kind of strayed beyond the usual adjustments and had a bit of a talk about my weight and health. I wrote about this in "Neanderings" and you can read it in my post called "Black Coffee".
   And today, I had potentially my final appointment with Allison. We agreed that my knee is much better now than when I first saw her and that I should test it out as much as possible and follow some of the guidelines she's given me. If, in the future, things seem wrong with it, I can always call for a follow-up. I thanked her profusely and am itching to get back out there!
   You are now all caught up, almost to the minute!

   

Medical Monday And I Win A Prize!

   Today was yet another Medical Monday in my life.
   It started more or less first thing with a visit to my physiotherapist, Alison, at CBI. She foam-rolled me, stretched my right quad til I thought it would pop off, and then spent some time massaging the part of my knee that connects with my IT (iliotibial) band. There seemed to be a little swelling there and she thought it might have been from the foam-rolling she's been doing on the IT band the past few weeks. After all this, a new exercise to do, an ultrasound treatment and then a session with the TENS machine.
   At the end of all this, the knee felt great! As a matter of fact, the knee feels better now than it has in months, pretty well since I originally injured it last April (seems so long ago now). She suggested that I try running on it for a short bit and so that became my plan for later on.
   Part of Medical Monday this week included a trip to the blood donor clinic later on in  the afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day and I thought if I was headed to that end of town then I would stop in at the MEC store, drop off some used batteries from work, and see if there was anything I could spend a $15 gift card on. 

My newest pair of Injinjis!

   Now, I happened to have that $15 gift card as the result of being one of the winners of a draw which was sponsored by the Thames Valley Trail Association. The TVTA said it was going to take the names of all the people who completed the End-To-End trail hike in 2017 and put them in a draw for both an End-To-End badge and an MEC gift card. I had sort of forgotten about the draw but then, a couple of weeks ago, what shows up in my mail but a badge and a gift card! Awesome! I walked around the store a bit and then found a pair of Injinji socks that cost about $18. Perfect!
   From the MEC store, it was on to the blood donor clinic. Ran into a bit of a snag there. About a week ago I had a punch biopsy done on a lesion on the side of my face (hopefully this will not lead into a whole bunch of other Medical Monday posts) and I still had not received the results of this. Because I had not received the results, they would not let me make a donation. Bummer. They did, however, still let me partake of cookies and a Coke. Yay. 
   From there, back on home, where I made spaghetti sauce for dinner. It occurred to me that seeing as how I had not donated blood, this meant I could go and work out before dinner. I took Alison's advice and did a little bit of treadmill running, with no pain. I even did the leg machines, which I had put on hold weeks ago, with no pain! 
   Kinda hard to describe how good this felt! I have always enjoyed the way my body heals itself but after awhile, when you're MY age, you start to wonder if maybe some of your body parts have outlasted the warranty. I was worried about this with my knee but after today I am much encouraged!
   
   P.S. Injinji should hire me as an ambassador. Both Alison and the MEC cashier asked me about them today. I wear them to physio and gave them a glowing recommendation to Alison and then basically repeated myself at the MEC store. They are awesomesocks!!
   

And Then My Knee Went BANG!

   Since last September, I have been exclusively running trails. Prior to that, almost all of my running took place on the sidewalks and streets of my neighbourhood, here in London.
   I took to trail-running because it felt much less performance-based to me. My only goal out on the trail was to explore, see some scenery and run with ease. As I did this, it felt as though it was becoming easier and easier and that I was able to progressively run harder. I then began to wonder what difference this might have made in my ability to run a 5K on pavement.
   With all this in mind, last night I headed out for a 5K run. I realized very quickly that I was very much heel-striking as I ran. On the trails, for whatever reason, I find that I am very much more prone to heel-striking whereas on pavement a midfoot strike seems easier. When I realized that I was heel-striking, I attempted to switch over to midfoot running.
   Well, I took about three more strides and then I heard a bang. After the quarter of a second it took for me to wonder what the bang was, the pain in my knee hit. I stopped dead in my tracks and then took another couple of very tentative steps before I knew that my running for the evening was done. 

There's that sucker---up near the top.

   I hobbled home (thank goodness I had only made it about four houses away), made it up the front steps and over to the couch. Out came the ice and the Ibuprofen. I then spent the rest of the evening taking it easy, as well as trying to assess how bad the damage was.
   Straining a knee is nothing new to me, a long history of sports has given me ample opportunity to enjoy the experience. What was new, however, was the bang sound! 
   Right off the bat, I was consulting Dr. Google. He, of course, was not encouraging. The only thing that didn't send me into a total panic (okay, I never do that anyways) was the fact that I could quite easily bear weight. I resolved to wait until morning and see how I felt.
   This morning, the knee didn't feel all that good and I knew right away that I'd be seeking medical attention. Fortunately, it was my late work morning and I was able to find coverage so that I could get the day off. Then, fortunately again, I was able to get in to see my family doctor.
   One of the nice things about my family doctor is that he is a young guy with a sports background. Before becoming a family doctor, he ran a physio clinic and was also a massage therapist so I was quite happy to get his opinion. After hearing my story and doing a physical exam, he diagnosed me with a gastrocnemius muscle pull or strain. We agreed that this was better than what it could have been. He also gave me a referral for physiotherapy and if, with their expertise, they think it might be something else then I have effectively gotten a second opinion. On top of everything else, he also suggested that when I get back to running I should perhaps concentrate a little more on dynamic stretching. My pre-run routine, principally done in response to a debilitating PF adventure I had back when I started running, currently involves almost solely static stretching. My plan will be to try and combine that two.
   In the meantime....no running! This, of course, sucks and I know what a funk it can throw other runners into. I tend to try and remember people I know who can't even walk and would be ecstatic to be limping around with me, if it were at all possible, before I get really too down about it. I also know that the recovery time will go by quickly and by the time I'm ready to hit the trails again, everything will be warm and leafy and green. Can't wait!