I am hyper-flexible

[janradder]

Which means that I can touch my thumb to my wrist among other feats of inhuman stretchiness even if I haven't stretched that muscle or body part in months or years. Being flexible is one of those things that is supposed to help you avoid injuries which is why athletes not only lift weights and train aerobically but also stretch. Unfortunately, being hyper-flexible, for me, means that I'm constantly injuring myself though I never know when it's going to happen and it's usually because I was doing something that no one in the world would ever think would cause injury.

When I was younger I used to sprain my ankles all the time just walking or running. Later, for the first few years I played guitar, I used to sprain my left wrist as I held the neck of the the guitar. I can also sprain my toes and the arch of my feet simply by standing up. And, a few years ago, I had to go to physical therapy because the ligaments and tendons in my legs and hips were so loose that they weren't holding everything together right.

My latest injury comes from making the kids' beds. I have no idea when it happened or what exactly I did to cause the injury, but I first sprained my left wrist making their beds and, when it had healed a week later, I did something to my right hand. At this point, I can't squeeze with it or even make a loosely held fist without it hurting like an absolute motherfucker. I've got an ace bandage on it now, hoping that a few days of immobility may cure it but it's been a tough due to the fact that I am so right-handed that I can barely do anything with my left hand (like eat popcorn -- it feels like I'm using someone else's hand to direct the food to my mouth and I have to seriously concentrate to get that food there without dropping it or missing my mouth almost entirely. I know, it's pathetic). haddayr  tells me that every time she complains about an injury I tell her to go see the doctor but that I never do when I've got something wrong.  It's only been hurting since Saturday night so I feel like it's too early to go se someone.  If it keeps hurting like this, though, I think I'm going to have to go in.

Comments

[snurri.livejournal.com]

It's only been hurting since Saturday night so I feel like it's too early to go see someone.

Yeah, I think you oughta read that sentence out loud to yourself a couple of times, TOUGH GUY.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's just a couple days. I'll go when it becomes bloated like a balloon and completely useless, just dangling at my side. The doctor will probably tell me it's nothing though and that I'm just being a big baby.

[snurri.livejournal.com]

That's the spirit!

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

Seriously.

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

My husband laughed as he read your title from a distance. "What is that, a singles site ad?" We both laughed. I really laughed hard then put it in perspective. Why you are A an E's dad afterall!

[pierogi-queen.livejournal.com]

he takes after his mother.

[st-writes.livejournal.com]

This is probably a sign you should stop doing housework. Tell the dog to make the beds....

[janradder.livejournal.com]

I would but he'd just use that as an excuse to sleep in them.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

I kind of thought it might have that double entendre when I posted the heading. Glad you and your husband got a laugh out of it.

[jamiam.livejournal.com]

Wow.

Worst part is, you wonder what the doctor can actually do for you? But they might have a trick or two up their sleeves if you're still in pain in another day.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

That's kind of how I feel about it (what can they really do). In the past they've said to immobilize it (which I'm doing), take anti-inflammatories (which I'm also doing) and wait (which, again, is what I'm doing). If I didn't have a co-pay and a deductible, I'd probably go in but I don't want to pay money just to be told there's nothing they can do (unless, of course, it stays this bad with no improvement).

[jamiam.livejournal.com]

Well, they might have a higher class of anti-inflammatory... I got a couple of interesting shots in my backside at the ER when my lower back was at its nadir two years ago.

Do you know any sports medicine docs, or physical therapists? My brother had something like this happen to him, where he banged his knee and couldn't walk for two months. Turns out the injury itself wasn't so bad--but the swelling had pushed all sort of ligaments and tendons out of alignment, and that was absolutely agonizing. Eventually he saw a sport medicine specialist, and she showed him how to wrap the ace bandage in such a way that it pushed everything back into alignment. And then the knee finally started to get better.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've actually had physical therapy stints twice now for two different injuries (both related to being hyper-flexible, though). I also had a cortisone shot for the last one (a shoulder injury) that helped. My hand is actually starting to feel better this afternoon so hopefully it should be back to normal in a day or so. If it flares up again, though, I'll probably go ahead and make the call, just to see if there's something other than a sprain.