Oh, Just great

[Henrik]

I must be the most unlucky person in the world! Today, when I was going to class, I was headed out from a bus. Just as the door opens, a car drives into the bus in the rear, causing me to fall out the five steps and down into the asfalt.... well, I twisted my ancle and got a bruise on my knee, but went to class - It didnt hurt to much then.. damn, I am a stupid guy... I should have iced it and kept it over breast-height, but what do I do? Classical in two hours... Now - four hours after - its swallow and hurts everytime i move it...

I really hope this heals fast, I HATE beeing injured, and always starts training just a little too soon after the injury, and then it gets wworse and I have to wait even longer... Ough, I am just so frustrated now

Anyone got any good Ideas for what to do to get good in notime? I have lots and lots of rehersals also now the time ahead to Nutcracker, and in case this is really serious - I am the nutcracker, and have no understudy.....

[Mel Johnson]

Henrik, you sound very nervous. First, calm down; second, if you didn't ice it and the rest of the RICE procedure immediately, do it now. If the situation hasn't improved within 72 hours from the start of therapy, go see the doctor.

 

Normally, since this is double-posted to Men's and Buddy Board, I'd delete one or the other, but I think you need peer group moral support, and one of your peer groups is teens. I'll let this stand, just for once.

[MJ]

Henrik, get to a dance therapist or orthopedist immediately!!! Or As soon as possible. I agree with Mel about RICE (Rest Ice Crack? and Elevation) Do not take Vioxx!

 

I would also look for a good personal injury attorney, if they have them where you live.

 

If you were able to take class after the injury, I suspect it is a strained muscle or ligament. A professional will be able to diagnose you better than any teacher will.

 

Mike

[Mel Johnson]

I think your version of RICE would be more fun, Mike, but it stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. If you're an old-fashioned first aider it was Rest, Immobilization, Cold, Elevation, but that comes out to about the same thing.

 

But don't go to a dance therapist! They're mental health professionals, and might start by asking you when you started to hate your mother. What you might need is a physical therapist who's used to working with dancers. Second-best after that would one who's used to sports medicine.

 

I don't know how personal injury claims are handled in Norway, so I'll just leave that one alone. And it is always a good idea to read medicine advisories for contraindications (when you shouldn't take it) or side effects. I remember having a particularly bad season of summer allergies once and thought I had found just the thing to make me stop sneezing, then I read the label and it said something like, "Side effects include boils, total hair loss, leukemia, broken bones, syphillis and the Black Death."

[Garyecht]

Henrik, don’t think you were stupid because you went to class after your accident. I know a lot of athletic trainers, coaches, and doctors who would have applauded your act (assuming that you made it through class fine). Bump and bruise injuries often don’t manifest themselves until hours afterward. What that tells me is it’s unlikely you have anything more serious than bumps and bruises and perhaps some abrasions, all things that usually heal within a week or so. With serious injuries like major broken bones, torn ligaments and tendons, you know immediately that you are in big trouble.

 

Mel’s advice is excellent as far as the physical aspects of your injuries.

 

But I’m guessing that your real problem is mental rather than physical. I mean, for many of us, when we are injured and can’t do the physical activities we love (even if we miss just one training session), we go into an irrational, mean-spirited, depressed funk (call it big time stress) that really only adds to the injury. Some will argue that the stress itself actually slows recovery.

 

Quite frankly I don’t know that there is any proven way of dealing with that stress. Much of it is personal, so some people experience very little, while others (like me) go crazy.

 

My suggestion is essentially to do things that take your mind off being injured. Go to more movies than you might ordinarily do, invite people over and socialize, whatever it takes to keep you from dwelling on what you are missing. Don’t forget the RICE activities, but schedule them for several short periods rather than a few long ones. The benefits of icing, for example, diminish quickly after about 5 minutes.

 

Another thing is to look at this more positively. EVERYONE gets injured sooner or later, usually right when you least need to be injured. So think of injury recovery as a skill that has to be developed. Everyone’s mind and body is a little different, so what might work for one person might not for another. General principles (like RICE) usually work for everyone, but finding how your body responds best requires a little experimentation.

[MJ]

Mel, I meant a Physical Therapist who specializes in dancers. Yes, they do have you lie down, but on a massage table instead of a Gestalt couch. I've been to too many Orthopedists that just want your money and write you a prescription for Vioxx. A good PT will do a complete assessment and give you excercises/therapy that will get you back in the studio in no time.

MY PT is the best, she cured me of a nagging (2-3 years) tight muscle in a matter of weeks.

[Mel Johnson]

Yes, Mike, I know, but too many people have the idea that a "dance therapist" is a PT. They are actually psychiatric caseworkers, and the best you can get from them regarding physical injury is the ability not to worry about it.

[Henrik]

Thanks for all help. My grandfather got very ill this week, and I havent been able to reply, since I have been visiting him..

 

News is: Its nothing serious, (says my physcioterapist - the closest to a PI I have in my city, she really works with runners etc.) just "bumps and bruises". Now I have been at my grandfathers house in a week, so I have rested and stuff.. It doesnt hurt anymore when i step on the foot, but if I "sickle" it - rotate the ankle inward - it hurts like all hell... and also it is easier to"step over", that is stepping at the outside of the foot, stretching the ligaments on the outside of the ankle. My P.T. says I should train with a balance board - a round plate you balance with the muscles in the ankle, so i do that...

But most of all im stressed because every class I take (Took before the incident with my grandfather a week ago) it hurts afterwards, telling me I should take it easy and rest it for a while. The problem is I cant just sit there - at school we are not allowed to leave class if we are injured - we have to sit and watch the others dance while taking notes etc. - just to rub it in. "you cant dance, so sit and watch the others do what you are not capable of at the moment" The people making desicions at my school is not always he most clever people in the world...

[Mel Johnson]

OOooh, I like that "bash" smilie! But see, part of the basic cure was applied, just because you went to visit your grandfather. You gave the part that hurt a rest!

[Henrik]

I guess... Hope so, cause tomorrow im starting a four day course with a teacher from New York, Daniella something (forgot her last name, we werent allowed to use it last time she was here.. "hello, my name is Daniella ..., but I dont want any missus ... or mz .. or anything. Just call me Daniella). And im not planning on beeing injured...

[Metaldancer]

I think your version of RICE would be more fun, Mike, but it stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. If you're an old-fashioned first aider it was Rest, Immobilization, Cold, Elevation, but that comes out to about the same thing.

 

But don't go to a dance therapist! They're mental health professionals, and might start by asking you when you started to hate your mother. What you might need is a physical therapist who's used to working with dancers. Second-best after that would one who's used to sports medicine.

 

I don't know how personal injury claims are handled in Norway, so I'll just leave that one alone. And it is always a good idea to read medicine advisories for contraindications (when you shouldn't take it) or side effects. I remember having a particularly bad season of summer allergies once and thought I had found just the thing to make me stop sneezing, then I read the label and it said something like, "Side effects include boils, total hair loss, leukemia, broken bones, syphillis and the Black Death."