I want to:
1. Share my thoughts on medical attention after car accidents!
2. Reach out to those who are injured!
3. Revel in my progress! (Totally a selfish one!)
On September 11th of this year, I got rear ended by a guy in a Dodge Durango who didn't see my brakes. He didn't even hit me that hard.
And I thought, in those few shocky moments post-accident, that this would be relatively a small bump in my life. I figured a couple days of icing and a little gentle neck range of motion and I'd be back to normal, especially with my insider info as a physical therapist, and trainer.
This video looks to me like a chiropractic student made film. There are many videos on you tube that illustrate what happens to the neck and back during an auto injury. Use this video as a starting point, and explore! It is a great information source for how getting hit from behind is kinda a big deal. Being hit at a very low speed of 5 miles an hour wreaks quite a bit of havoc on the spine. Whiplash = no joke.
NOTE! I am in no way promoting chiropractic care , as there are associated risks too. You are always in control of what you chose to use as tools to address your issues. And like everything in life, there are amazing bakeries, not so great bakeries, and that is true with health care. Whatever line of healing one pursues, you need to be your advocate, say "no" to treatments you are not ready for, and communicate with your care givers. My chiropractor never adjusted me without us discussing it first, and never manipulated my neck until a few weeks after the accident. This holds true for acupuncture, Rolfing, massage, AND physical therapy!
Little did I know, it would be two months before I could run again! I iced and took it easy that day. The next day, I expected it to be a little more intense. It was, and all that week too! My neck muscles were fuzzy, thick and my neck was pretty immobile. It didn't hurt super bad, but it was hard to turn my head any direction, and it was achy. And it was tough to think. And even light lifting made it worse.
I went to my doctor, just to update her on what was going on and declined any X-ray due to the fact that I had no severe pain or radiating pain or numbness into my hands. She, as a western medicine doc did not have a lot to offer me (I declined pain meds, and muscle relaxants), but she did give me a physical therapy prescription in case I felt I couldn't address my own needs.
I filed a personal injury claim (Thanks for being awesome Oregon!) and pursued help of all kinds! I had chiropractic care, deep tissue massage, acupuncture, and applied my physical therapy knowledge. All this wonderful care got me better relatively fast, I was 75% better in two weeks, but also not challenging my body as I normally would. After a few weeks, I dropped the massage and pursued Rolfing.
During those first 6-8 weeks, I had to minimize lifting even laundry baskets because the muscles would go back to spasm town if overly stressed. I let the house and yard go wild. And I focused on walking every day, recumbent biking at the gym, and gentle core exercise during this time period. If it made my neck or back mad, I just didn't do it. Walking always helped.
I also watched muscle waste away on my body, and knew my cardiovascular fitness would take a hit. I knew it just had to be that way.
Just as I got to a point of starting to reintroduce running and more intense exercise, I got the massive bug that hit many people in late October. And that party lasted three weeks!
Now, I was feeling super frustrated in early November, because now my respiratory system, my immune system, and my musculoskeletal system were all officially worn down or hypertrophied. My muscle mass had visibly decreased, I gained a few pounds, and in general, did not feel so invincible! So to my buddies in recovery, getting back to into your sport or fitness routine post-illness or injury…will require patience. For me, even with my training and insight, I knew it would take a while, but that did not diminish the frustration when it was my turn to be the one injured! So pace yourself, and respect that your body wants to get better, wants to build, it just will need time. It's almost 3 months later and I am on the upswing, but I am far from pre accident levels of fit. For all the deep and superficial structures to heal and repair, it will take 6 months to a year. Yep, even for a relatively "minor" accident.
One strategy I employed for harnessing motivation was "buddying up". I reached out to friends and excepted every offer to workout or go to the gym. I needed my circle of fitness friends to carry me. I also would have to back off, and reign myself back from doing things others could.
I am not done with post-accident tune ups but I am back to lifting weights (lighter for now!), running, swimming, and biking. My neck gets tight and ropey if I do too much, too fast. I am grateful for my ongoing care. And I remember to balance pushing myself with listening to my body.
And now for my revel!
I had signed up for the Thanksgiving 5 K right after my accident. I figured I could walk it, or walk-run it, but hopefully, if possible RUN IT!
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| This was the medal! Super solid, high qual! |
It was my first full 3.1 miles post-accident, I had really been struggling with a new issue of exercise induced bronchial shut down (like exercise induced asthma) after the 3 week virus. I got an inhaler to use for a few weeks. The doc tells me I am just still healing up on the insides. Even with my new puff puff helper, running was really challenging. I was walk-running and sucking air. And I hadn't really run 3 miles continuously since September.
So in regards to this 5K and respecting my spot on the recovery continuum, I had to just take a moment before this 5 K to keep everything in perspective. One one hand, I blossom amongst competition, and on the other, I also can get swept up in the excitement and overreach. So I set a few goals...
1. To finish
2. To run as much as I could
3. To walk if I felt neck or back pain
It was a cold day, and I suited up in my turkey outfit. SO EXCITING! I was lucky I had my husband's family in for Thanksgiving! That means Cathy, my sister in law and author of a good year, and my Mike, my favorite husband and great support in all things, were there as well.
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| Me, Mike, and Cathy |
A side note, I pushed a bit at the end of the race and felt a bit of a hurl coming on after crossing the finish line, and seriously held it back knowing that a puking turkey would be you tube gold. Especially if I kinda waggled my arms and "bawked" out the vomit. Crisis averted! Whew!
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