Injuries and Illness

The past two weeks have been very tough. Ignoring the fact that where I work can be very demanding at times and that the past week was no exception to that truth, I've skated once in the last two and a half weeks. While this has been amazingly frustrating, it's given me some time to think and it's probably been better in the long run.

In any given sport, injuries are a given. Derby is no different. I've been to bouts where I've witnessed girls getting hit hard and landing even harder. The lucky ones spring back up and are fine. The not so lucky ones find themselves with broken bones or bloody noses. Given that I'm not a fan of pain, I occasionally question why I want to do derby so badly given how real injuries can be. Honestly, I'm not sure I can put down on words what it is that is driving me. However, I can say that it is a drive. This is the first time I've truly wanted something and pushed for it in years. I find myself dreaming about derby. There are certain songs that are songs that I feel the need to skate to, even when I'm nowhere near a skating rink.

Knowing that injuries are a reality means that they can be prepared for or at least lessened. This means skating in proper form and falling in proper form. It also means not skating when breathing is difficult hence my lack of skating recently (it seems that the most stressful week of the semester means I should also catch a virus going around that turns out to give nasty secondary infections; hello sinus infection, good-bye good health.)

Pushing through the pain is sometimes a good thing as you are trying to push yourself. Two minutes doesn't seem that long until you're in a jam that could win the game. You can't slow down and you can't just "sit it out" until you've got your breath. (I did see a girl leave a jam after she'd been landed on by a few blockers and she had a bloody nose; no, the jam didn't stop for her.) However, there is a line there. If you can't sit up on the couch without having a 10 minute coughing fit, then maybe you shouldn't be skating. It's frustrating and feels like quitting but the reality is that the body needs to heal.

The same is true of muscle aches. There's been talk on the recruiting message boards about how much is too much and how much of a break should you give yourself and your muscles before pushing forward. It's been interesting to read and helpful. The most repeated thing is that rest is good as it helps the body actually build the muscles that it suddenly finds itself using. Hydration and stretching have also been emphasized greatly.

The last time I was skating, I took a couple of falls, mostly to avoid small children who seem to believe that you'll stop and not run over them because they are small children. A few times, the safest thing to do was to fall. Most of my falls, while not forward, which is better, were at least to the side and not straight onto my back side. However, one of them was really impressive and made me realize I was pushing too hard and no longer had the strength to keep going. Was I good and did I stretch everything out really well? Nope. I was tired and hungry and had to go pick up some bird cages. I felt my left hamstring start to tighten up but I still ignored it. I then spent the week slowly stretching it while applying heat when I could. I was lucky that it wasn't something worse; that I didn't sprain or pull it though maybe I did and I just knew I didn't have the option to stay off of it due to work so I figured out how to work around it. I have sprained a muscle before and so I'm fairly certain that this wasn't the case with the hamstring but boy did I spend the week wishing I'd actually stretching it out nice and good at the time! Just over a week later and I'm finally feeling completely comfortable again.

These are all tools to help us maintain and improve our bodies so when we do go down, it's not for the count. Hopefully it's in a "really cool one knee drop and get back up without loosing speed" sort of way. We aren't always that lucky but at least by learning how and training in the right way, I can avoid future major hurts. It's better to sit out and take a breather now than find out I can make it to try-outs because I pushed too hard or fell the wrong way because I was in too big of a hurry to get better.