DT Active Life 050617 for web

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health & wellness Surviving a Minor Injury It can take quite some time and ingenuity to recover from a sprained foot or other mishap. Here are some tips to help speed up the process. IN CASE OF INJURY... When I was seven, I broke my wrist on one of the very last days of second grade before school let out for the summer. Back then I had no adult responsibilities. My only concern was keeping my plaster cast dry for six weeks while I, unable to swim at our town park with my friends, stood waist deep in the water with a plastic bread bag secured around my arm. I’ve been more than lucky not to have suffered any serious injuries since then, but a recent sprained foot poked a serious hole in the memory of my seven-year-old-self calmly lazing through a restful summer recuperation as I waited to get back in the water. In fact, nothing surprised me more than how completely sidelined I felt by what I considered to be a minor injury. The pitfalls are out there: tree roots, loose gravel, steep inclines and rocky slopes. And so it was for me, hiking up a hill in deep snow, when my foot rolled sideways. I knew I had hurt myself somewhat, but it wasn’t until I woke up at midnight in excruciating pain that I knew that I needed to get to the emergency room. After a struggle to get dressed and get a sock over my painfully swollen foot, I crawled across the floor to the top of the stairs. I then had to push myself down the stairs, inching downward in a sitting position. At the bottom my husband handed me an old, hand-carved wooden cane that we found at an antique shop and kept in an umbrella stand as decoration. It was utterly useless. Our front steps were icy. The struggle to get to the car while hopping on my right foot, and actually getting through the lobby of the ER, was exhausting. A couple of hours, some good pain medication and an X-ray later, I learned I had a sprain. Not a break thankfully, but a painful inconvenience that would certainly need time to heal. My foot was wrapped in an ace bandage and I was issued a pair of crutches and sent home. Here are some of the obvious and not-so-obvious things I learned the hard way: n Read the doctor’s orders thoroughly. Don’t just listen to your doctor’s recommendations. Read everything the nurse gives you, and not just the first few paragraphs. If I had done so, I would have remembered that I needed to continue icing and elevating my foot into the 2nd and 3rd day. Instead, I slacked off after the first day. A week later I had to repeat the entire icing/elevation process to reset my recuperation. n Stay home from work for at least two days, if not three. I only stayed home one day. Feeling invincible, I headed for the office. It was a mistake. While I pretty much stayed in my chair and everyone kindly helped me, I couldn’t elevate or ice my foot. The healing process stagnated and I exhausted myself hobbling around. n Don’t do any long-distance driving. On the third day after my injury, I took a three hour trip to a prior commitment. Another mistake. I figured that my sprained left foot wouldn’t have to do anything but rest while I drove, but it was one of the worst things I could have done. By the end of the trip, my foot, resting in one position on the floor of the car each way for three hours, turned into a swollen, numb, painful stiff stump. Next time I’ll cancel and stay home. 18 | DACKS & TOGA activelife n Take it easy. Yes, even though you are getting help from loved ones, you will see the chores are piling up around the house. Or maybe you don’t like being dependent. You begin to feel a little better and start taking on all of your usual tasks. You start moving around frequently on your crutches, and hopping and standing on one foot. Don’t. If you do, you will start to overcompensate with the rest of your body. Pretty soon, your neck aches, your hands ache from the crutches and from scooting up and down the stairs, then your good foot starts hurting and you’ve pinched a nerve in your armpit from slamming around on the crutches. You may not have re-injured your foot, but you’ve risked sustaining another injury to another part of your body.
n A pair of crutches belongs in every athlete’s emergency kit. As soon as the nurse in the ER fitted me with my crutches, I realized how valuable they would be to have on hand. If this ever happens to me again, I have a great tool to use until I can see a doctor. The crutches are adjustable so that they fit people within an eight-inch range of height. That means family members and friends can use them in a pinch. If you don’t want to invest in crutches, at least get yourself a good cane. n Check out some videos. It turns out that crutches are not that easy to use. They take some getting used to. In addition to the aches and pains mentioned above, navigating on them too quickly can cause you to lose your balance. After about 5 days of frustration and discomfort, I finally checked Youtube and found several instructional videos on how to properly use crutches. The videos reminded me that I needed to slow down and be more intentional in my movements. I also realized that the hand braces were not exactly at the correct height, so I repositioned them. My only caveat: if you live or work in an old building, check out the stability of the banisters before you follow their recommendations for scaling any staircases. n Backpack it. Crutches tie up both hands. You cannot carry anything, or even bring a cup of coffee to the table. You will have to ask loved ones for a lot of help! Not only did I ditch my purse for a backpack, I kept the backpack with me even in the house. I found that traveling around my home with a backpack helped me keep things tidied up and saved extra trips going up and down stairs. n A transport wheelchair is an added plus. A week into my recuperation, my sister gave me our late father’s transport wheelchair to use. It was a lightweight, foldable dream come true. If anyone in your extended family has one of these, tell them to hold on to it. The wheelchair gave me the freedom to tool around the kitchen and prepare meals. I could get heavy items from the fridge, carry liquids to the table and unload the dishwasher. If I had gotten the wheelchair earlier, my entire first week would have been immeasurably easier. n Don’t wait until your old age to age-proof your house. If you are an active person, or you have a child participating in sports, sooner or later someone in your home will get injured. The same modifications that help an elderly person age in place are just as useful for an active athlete. While I was grateful that we already had a walk-in shower, I still felt the need for a grab bar. A grab bar in the shower will also allow an injured teenager to shower privately and safely. I also needed a shower seat because I did not feel stable standing on one foot on a slick shower floor. Truth be told, we do have a leftover portable shower seat from taking care of an elderly parent. However, it was in the garage, legs caked in dirt, as I’d been using it as a seat while I weeded the garden. I will definitely clean it up and reclaim it for its proper use. I also found that the two built-in, counter-height, pull-out cutting boards on either side of my kitchen stove were incredibly helpful while cooking dinner in a wheelchair. n Sneakers, Sneakers, Sneakers! I did not try to wear high heels, but I did try to wear shoes that turned out to be completely inappropriate. These shoes looked harmless because they were relatively flat, but they caused a lot of stress. Wearing shoes and boots with stiff leather or even a one-inch heel will put a lot of strain on your foot. They set my progress so far backward that I needed to go back to sneakers again exclusively during the fourth week. n Don’t be overconfident. Once you start feeling better, your confidence will snowball and you will start moving around as usual. Don’t. Keep your movements methodical and intentional for several weeks and don’t overdo it, or you will surely find yourself back at square one. -Gabrielle Katz PHOTOS: Shutterstock Perfect, Picnic-Worthy, Pack-and-Go Protein Snacks for Active People Just because you’re out hiking, biking, training or getting fit, it doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice great taste or solid food for your protein boost. With the warm weather approaching, it’s also good to know these snacks can go several hours without refrigeration. EGGS 6g Protein per serving Scrambled Egg Muffins: Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray. Scramble up some eggs and fill muffin cups, one egg per cup. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°. Add any ingredients you like to suit your taste: spices, sauteed onions, peppers or sausage, sundried tomatoes, shredded cheese...use your imagination. Let cool, put in a zip-loc bag, pack them up and go. BEEF JERKY 7g Protein per serving Beef Jerky and Fruit: Yes, we know, beef jerky does come out of a package. But, when you pair it with fruit, it’s a completely different flavor experience as well as a more complete meal. Our favorite is jerky paired with orange slices, but apples and grapes also pair well. PEANUT BUTTER 8g Protein per serving Peanut Butter Banana Rollups: Spread a whole wheat wrap with peanut butter, layer with sliced bananas and roll it all up. Yes, it’s simple, but also delicious and filling. You may want to carry these in a tupperware container in your pack. DACKS & TOGA activelife | 19
Page 1: activelife TM FREE SPORTS • FITNE
Page 4 and 5: contents FEATURES 10 Cover Story: 5
Page 6 and 7: Our Contributors Drew Cappabianca o
Page 8 and 9: tech Off-Road, On-Road, Any Terrain
Page 10 and 11: FIVE WAYS TO It’s Spring and the
Page 12 and 13: 2 Join a Group Ride: The First Ride
Page 14 and 15: 4 Take the Scenic Route: By Eric J.
Page 16 and 17: Finding the Right Bike is just the
Page 20 and 21: active life Profile Bill Parks Bill
Page 22 and 23: Bill working hard on a climb at a m
Page 24 and 25: oad trip 15 HOURS ON THE DEVIL’S
Page 26 and 27: set before starting again toward Hu
Page 28 and 29: Our writer finishing up a late wint
Page 30: calendar “If you really want to d

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