Things I've learned from being on crutches

Yep, I'm on crutches right now, and it really sucks! I've got a really bad case of patello-femoral pain syndrome, which is a fancy phrase for runner's knee, which basically means that my kneecap is tracking diagonally when I walk and run, instead of straight up and down. This rubs my knee's cartilage raw and in my case I think it's even bone rubbing on bone when I bend my knee. OUCH!

So I went to the doctor on Monday and have been on crutches ever since. My knee's feeling much better than it was, so I'm hopeful I can be off crutches tomorrow or Saturday. Good thing I don't have any weddings! :) (Not that that would stop me...I'd rather be dying of pain than miss a wedding!)

I've learned some things while being on crutches though, and I thought I'd share:

- Crutches are exhausting! I've been sleeping better these past few nights than I have in awhile, thanks to lugging my body weight around with my arms all day.

- To tie in with the above, crutches are an EXCELLENT arm workout! My triceps especially are feelin' the burn, but my whole upper arm's muscles are firm all day because I keep using them. I feel buff. haha

- It's okay to ask for help! After almost spilling several cups of water and tearing the towel bar from the wall trying to catch myself from falling, I've learned that its totally cool to ask for help carrying something when you're on crutches, and people don't mind helping you because they realize that crutches suck!

- You make lots of friends. Seriously, random people will come up to you and ask what happened, or tell you they totally sympathize with your knee injury (I got a brace from the doc so people can tell it's my knee) or just agree with you that crutches are lame.

- You learn to think if really creative ways to do things, like sitting on your butt and pulling yourself up or down stairs. Or carrying things in your mouth when there's no one around to help you. Or having all your bathroom stuff brought to the downstairs bathroom so you don't have to kill yourself going up to yours.

- Showering is infinitely harder!!! We have 2 types of showers in the house-one that's also a tub, and one that's strictly a shower, and I can't decide which one's better. The shower-only one has that handle in it that I can grab to steady myself once I'm in the shower, but it's REALLY hard to get over the little ledge to doors are one because it's wet and I can't jump in. The tub shower is easier to get in because I can sit and just swing my legs in, but there's nothing to grab onto once I'm in. Conundrum!


So, as I said, hopefully tomorrow or Saturday I will be off of crutches, though I'll still have to wear the brace for awhile all the time, and then just when I'm running. In the meantime I guess I'm relegated to the bike and the elliptical!

Biggest lesson learned: lift weights when you run otherwise your quads won't be as strong as they need to be when you run and your kneecap will track out of place.