Hurrying is something I’ve sworn off of late. I know rushing doesn’t get me ahead. But what your logical self knows and your good sense tells you often lose out to old ways and ingrained habits. Remembering to be in the moment is always, bar none, your best bet.
Saturday afternoon I jammed my foot into a misplaced seven-pound dumbbell and did some serious damage to the second-to-last toe on my left foot. I was running out of time getting ready to head for Cullman.
My band, After Two Glasses, had an 8:30 p.m. gig, and it was time to get going. My swiftly moving foot hit the stationary weight, and my poor toe absorbed the transition. “Ouch” is a paraphrased, cleaned-up version of what I actually said.
I taped that puppy up, packed up my gear with help from husband/roadie, Richard Kirby, and my musical partner, Paul Walters. I had to stand for 3 hours, which was probably not a good idea. For most of that time, I kept weight off my foot, but elevation would have been better. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20, right?
So, I did my job, and when I got home I kept my foot elevated constantly and iced regularly for the next 36 hours. My understanding is that an injury of this sort is helped by 15 minutes of icing every hour during the first couple of days. I found a recipe for a useful homemade ice pack. One part alcohol to two parts water in a zippered plastic bag creates a substance that becomes icy but never freezes solid, making it a good solution for something like a toe that needs more of a wrap of ice.
Things improved rapidly. I couldn’t bear any weight on my foot Sunday morning but was hobbling around pretty well by Sunday night. And then, Monday morning, in my awkwardness as I twisted around to grab the sheets from the bottom of the bed, I threw my lumbar out — and I mean out.
I gave myself the day to indulge in a pity party. I’m not really fond of pouty Jean, but I let her out for a bit. I knew it best to just let her run her ugly course. But enough is enough. Pouty Jean kept me resting, which is what I really needed, but for a limited engagement only!
Some 23 years ago, I seriously injured my low back not long after the birth of my youngest, and it took me about two years to get over it. After finding little help from the medical community, I did a lot of self-study. Many things contributed to my improvement, but yoga was a big, big part of my recovery. This incident also put me on a more serious yoga path, and I am thankful for that.
Now I am a yoga teacher myself. You might think a yoga teacher doesn’t throw out her back… or pull a hamstring… or break her toe. She does, but she just knows what to do with it. Or how to find answers if she doesn’t.
Years ago the public was advised to remain stationary for lengthy periods of time after things like injury, surgery, and childbirth. The body and spine cannot remain healthy without movement. After an injury, the area may need immobility for a time, but that time may need to be shorter than you might think. One must carefully weigh when it is time to add movement to the recovery process. A doctor can assist in making that determination after medical procedures, but for minor muscular injuries, it is good to rest for 24 to 36 hours before beginning some supported (non-weight-bearing) movement. You must let some healing occur but not allow the area to become rigid as it creates scar tissue.
And immediately after an injury, ice is your best friend. I continued to ice my toe and my low back for 10 to 15 minutes about once an hour. This keeps swelling down by slowing the blood to the area. Heat is lovely and comforting after a couple of days of icing, but the ice will do miracles for speeding recovery! The ice pack recipe above will work, but a bag of frozen peas or some ice cubes wrapped in plastic works as well.
24 hours after my lumbar injury, I added some gentle twisting, side-bending and a supported back bend on the floor. My body craved the stretch and movement after my full day in bed. With lumbar issues, it is good to get some lengthening along the front of the thigh and hip to stretch out the psoas group. After another 24 hours, with the continued stretches, my body began to feel more normal, if you didn’t consider the throbbing toes!
By the end of the third day, my lumbar I was right as rain. Now my body wanted a little more challenging yoga work, but what to do with this aching, taped up mess at the end of my left leg?
That, my friends, shall be another story!