So I thought I would just tell the story once today at school, so I moseyed into class, and told everyone within earshot in Anatomical Nomenclature what had happened. My Physiology Instructor got a big kick out of it as well when I informed the curious students that, “I went into plantar flexion to retrieve the ball, and went I came down from the jump, I inverted my right foot, and rolled the lateral malleolus. I also fear that I have a partial tear in my fibular collateral ligament (or LCL for the layperson) of my right foot. I asked of my fellow players that one would help fetch some ice and two others assist me to the bench so I could R.I.C.E. RICE= Rest Ice Compress Elevate.”
The interesting thing about injury is all that body is immediately directed into the area of injury and the WBC’s (white blood cells) instantly start to repair the injury. Edema (swelling) follows, and the ice decreases the swelling. Some swelling is good, for it means that the blood is doing its job to repair and rest the area. It also helps to try and immobilize the injured area. Immobilization helps the ligaments and tendons in the area also heal and return to their normal tensile strength, which is what helps us keep our balance and keeps the bones stay in distant relationships with each other. Compression comes in the way of an ACE bandage, and though it hurts, it helps SOOOO much! Anyway, back to the story!
So I jumped in the car, and tenderly eased the Suburban home, (it still takes quite a bit of plantar flexion to press a Chevy’s gas pedal to the floor), hopped inside the house, tried a little Hydrotherapy in the way of vasodilation (applying short bursts of warmth) and vasoconstriction. Let me tell you now that it is much easier to apply a bag of ice to an injury than to submerge your entire foot into a tub of ice. 90 seconds was my record yesterday, and I have NO plans for trying to beat that record in the future.
Still, the ice has brought the swelling down hardcore.
In just a few short weeks, I hope to be back on the volleyball court, in the gym strengthening my Peroneus longus and tibialis posterior muscles.
2 comments:
What I meant to say...
You little pathology nerd...I loved it. In our field we basically just deal with everything superior to the trachea, so learning some of the physiology and healing of the LE (lower extremities) was really fascinating.
Hoping your flexion is getting better
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