Minor Injuries

I messed up on my goal #1 of my transformation program at the gym. Goal #1, as I explained in another post, was to avoid injury. On Monday, about 40 minutes into my first aerobic step class in at least 10 years, I got a pain in my knee and in the front of my ankle.

The good news was that I did survive the class. There was no need to call an ambulance. The pain in the knee and ankle was not too bad, but I knew I needed to take action to get it to heal as quickly as possible.

What do you do when you have such pains – not bad enough to call the doctor but, still, you know that you are definitely in some pain, and you certainly do not want to make it worse?

Fortunately, I have more than a few things up my sleeve. Tuesday, I did not exercise and gave my knee and ankle a rest. I did a bit of Reiki on myself (I had taken a course to learn how to do this last year). I also drank plenty of water – I have gotten rid of some pains just by this alone, believe it or not. I avoided sugar except for a smidgeon of cake that I had at a social get-together. (It would have been better if I had totally skipped this, I’m sure.) Throughout the day, I chose alkaline foods, which are helpful in reducing inflammation, including raspberries, collards, quinoa, and kombucha (a therapeutic beverage). These sensible ideas anyone can do without an appointment or a co-pay.

Another therapeutic measure I like to do on such occasions is to use some arnica gel on my sore joints and muscles. You see, sometimes I indulge in some activity for which I really am not properly conditioned, someone else’s idea for the “exercise du jour”, for which I acquiesce. Whether it is cross country skiing, hiking, or the squat machine at the gym, I end up paying for it afterwards.

Arnica: a liquid preparation made from the dried flower heads of a perennial herb. Use: treating bruises and sprains in alternative medicine. – Encarta Dictionary

I was introduced to arnica gel a few years back when my son was taking tae kwon do. Often on Board Breaking Day, some kid or adult would manage to hit the board or cinder block improperly (if you can imagine that). Anyway, the tae kwon do master would always spray the badly bruised hand or foot with arnica. It worked well enough that the injured student would be “just fine” the next day. It was impressive.

I like to use the clear arnica gel which is available in health stores and some drugstores. At the health store that I was in yesterday I could not find it, so fortunately I asked the clerk if they had it. As a result I got a short tutorial on the various products and learned some helpful tips.

The clerk told me to definitely stay with an arnica gel that is paraben-free. Then he asked if I needed the gel for trauma or chronic pain. Since normally I do not have pain, and this problem had come from a sudden change in direction while trying to keep up with the aerobic step instructor who is probably half my age, I decided it was “trauma”. So the store clerk directed me to the Boiron Arnicare gel with blue tube. The “blue tube” contains homeopathic medicine that you take by letting it dissolve in the mouth. (You aren’t supposed to outright swallow it.) I never knew about this option to ingest “Arnica montana” before. Great, yet another trick for my holistic tool bag! (Moral of the story: Ask questions at the health food store, and you find out some helpful tips.)

Today, Wednesday, the pain is almost totally gone so I decided to see how it was on the treadmill. I walked or jogged through 3.5 miles in 50 minutes without pain.

The more you know about natural supportive measures for health – through food, exercise, supplements, relaxation, meditation, etc., and the more you incorporate them in your daily life, the healthier you will be. And then, when you do have a health problem – be it caused by illness or accident -- the more prepared you will be to restore yourself to wellness.

Nonetheless, next time I think I will try an “easier” exercise class.