You know how people say, “No pain, no gain”? And you know how that translates to, “Suck it up and do what needs to get done?”Well, I had my own little experience like that this week.
I think I mentioned before about my knee injury. I was in eighth grade and at my friend’s house. We were playing keep away, when suddenly my knee dislocated and I collapsed, severely in pain with a swollen knee. Nothing was torn, nothing was broken, but something must have turned funky with my patella tendons, because for years after the slightest misstep could send me falling with a crack and a pop. It sounds disgusting, and hurts a lot, so be thankful you haven’t heard it.
But anyway, after a meeting with my advisor, I was walking down the stairs of the media center, innocent as can be. Someone started walking up the steps on the same side I was on, so, being polite, I moved to the other side, when all of a sudden…
CRACK! POP! TUMBLE! GURRAHHHH!!!!
You can see how swollen my knee got. Doesn’t it look fat?
What to do with a swollen-in-pain knee? I’m still trying to be healthy, and working out has become a daily part of my routine. I didn’t want to let my injury become an excuse to skip out on working out, but I also knew that I couldn’t do the same things I usually do at the gym in case I hurt myself even more.
So after a brief consultation with my fitness trainers (i.e. my parents). I decided that I wouldn’t let my knee stop me! I limped to the gym and hopped on the bike for a half hour. Yeah, it hurt a little, but moving my knee actually helped release the tension a little too, so in the end it even felt a little better. I’ve been taking it kind of easy since then, and can get on the elliptical now, but sadly my running training has been put off, even though I made it to running up to fifteen minutes last week!
Even a small bit of exercise is better than none at all!
If you hurt yourself, don’t let it stop you from things you enjoy or that make you happy. Putting off working out can lead to excuses being made, and all that effort you put into making a routine will be all for naught if you let yourself skip. I’m not saying that you should push yourself if you’re hurt. You know your body more than anyone, so don’t push yourself if you feel like it would do more harm than good. Resting an injury is very important. But don’t give up, either. No pain, no gain!
I hope you all have a great spring break! Have fun, be safe, and stay hydrated!