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08-21-01, 10:19 AM
Almost 30 years ago, I fell while snow skiing. It was not a bad fall. I had just gotten off the chair lift and was still on the relatively level "roadway" to the top of the (elementary) run I was planning to ski so I was not moving fast at all. While chatting with my brother, I wandered just off the well packed trail into some crusty stuff which I broke through and fell. My right binding popped loose just fine, but the left one held on a while as I rolled half to 3/4 of a turn, twisting my left ankle like a rubber band. I didn't go see a doctor, and it took well over a year for the ankle to feel normal again.
Things were normal for years. Several years later, I took up running and even completed a marathon. Running career ended with a foot injury, but the ankle was still fine.
A few years later, seemingly out of nowhere, the ankle suddenly started acting up again. I had been playing golf, walking, every week for almost a year with no problem. Suddenly, I could still walk the course though the ankle would hurt by the end, and the next day, I could hardly put weight on the ankle. By the third day, it would be OK again. After a while I stopped playing golf because I preferred not to ride in a cart. For almost 15 years, any time I stood on the ankle for any length of time, I would pay dearly the next day. The more I abused it, the worse it was. Anything - standing at a party or anywhere, doing projects around the house, anything that involved standing. As you can imagine, this was pretty much a weekly thing. I would do the damage on the weekend then hobble around in pain until Wednesday. Sometimes the pain was so bad I literally used a neat painted cane my brother had bought be in Mexico as a joke or lean on a dresser or wall to get weight off of the ankle.
Last November I started commuting about 21 miles round trip. Saturday, we moved my daughter into an apartment for her second year in vet school. I spent all morning loading a moving van and all afternoon unloading it. This should have left me in agony later. I woke up later that night to go to the bathroom. When I got back in bed I realized that not only did my ankle not hurt at all, but I could not remember the last time it did hurt!
Only one thing has changed, daily cycling. It has achieved a miraculous cure. The ankle is still not quite 100%. I sense a slight weakness that just feels like if I were to make a misstep and twist or turn it even slightly it would hurt more than a normal ankle. But at least it doesn't hurt! I even spent the next day standing for several hours working on a project. Still no pain. Now I have lost some weight, but I weighed less than now when the ankle first started bothering me so weight loss can only be a small part of the improvement.
Better living through cycling! Another reason to do it!
Regards,
Raymond
Things were normal for years. Several years later, I took up running and even completed a marathon. Running career ended with a foot injury, but the ankle was still fine.
A few years later, seemingly out of nowhere, the ankle suddenly started acting up again. I had been playing golf, walking, every week for almost a year with no problem. Suddenly, I could still walk the course though the ankle would hurt by the end, and the next day, I could hardly put weight on the ankle. By the third day, it would be OK again. After a while I stopped playing golf because I preferred not to ride in a cart. For almost 15 years, any time I stood on the ankle for any length of time, I would pay dearly the next day. The more I abused it, the worse it was. Anything - standing at a party or anywhere, doing projects around the house, anything that involved standing. As you can imagine, this was pretty much a weekly thing. I would do the damage on the weekend then hobble around in pain until Wednesday. Sometimes the pain was so bad I literally used a neat painted cane my brother had bought be in Mexico as a joke or lean on a dresser or wall to get weight off of the ankle.
Last November I started commuting about 21 miles round trip. Saturday, we moved my daughter into an apartment for her second year in vet school. I spent all morning loading a moving van and all afternoon unloading it. This should have left me in agony later. I woke up later that night to go to the bathroom. When I got back in bed I realized that not only did my ankle not hurt at all, but I could not remember the last time it did hurt!
Only one thing has changed, daily cycling. It has achieved a miraculous cure. The ankle is still not quite 100%. I sense a slight weakness that just feels like if I were to make a misstep and twist or turn it even slightly it would hurt more than a normal ankle. But at least it doesn't hurt! I even spent the next day standing for several hours working on a project. Still no pain. Now I have lost some weight, but I weighed less than now when the ankle first started bothering me so weight loss can only be a small part of the improvement.
Better living through cycling! Another reason to do it!
Regards,
Raymond