All Fall Down in Everyday Ramblings

There are just a few days each year to capture the roses in the right light. I am grateful to be able to have been out with a camera for them at least here in my neighborhood. Everywhere there is a microclimate so it is different. Yesterday was hot here, 90°F (32 °C).

I taught feet last night and to prepare for it I was reading this book called Dynamic Aging by Katy Bowman (and a group of her students). She is a bio-mechanist and movement teacher and one of my students (who has some pretty intense neuropathy in his feet from diabetes) got the recommendation from his massage therapist.

There is a whole little section in the book about falling down and the fear of falling down, which I was looking at on Sunday night. Basically the science says that if you are afraid of falling down you are more likely to fall down because you alter your gait and movements to guard against it.

I am pathologically afraid of falling on ice in the street but I did a great deal to conquer that fear this last winter by getting out with my poles and grippers every day we had ice (and we had a lot of those days this year)! It was interesting to work with that all a bit in my head.

Kes got the author’s previous book from the library, which is all about feet and is trying to do the exercises. She has arthritis in her big toes, bone spurs and inflammation pressing on one of the nerves in her feet and is having a heck of a time being as active as she wants to be.

I so hope she can get some relief.

On my last visit to my Physical Therapist we talked about my desire to interact with my inner pony and run and he gave me some helpful tips about a new approach to my old problem of having my heart rate spike to dangerous levels when I try running. I was totally pumped on Sunday that after all these issues with my back, (which is significantly better, yippee) I ran slowly, very slowly on the treadmill for 10 minutes.

Oh and did I mention I leg pressed 135 pounds? That is more than I weigh. It is all about nerve bundle recruitment and turning my muscles on.

But yesterday it was hot, these gardeners spent the whole day chopping off branches of the trees that surround my place and chomping them in a big cat driving crazy machine out back and I walked to class wearing relatively new Teva sandals with a velcro closure on top that apparently I had not cinched quite tight enough to make room for my bunion.

Just after hearing the horrible news from Manchester.

I walked on one of those metal plates in the sidewalk in front of a commercial building that open up to allow access and the very tip of my sandal hit the bump of a hinge and I went over hard.

I don’t ever remember falling that hard before. It was jarring.

The thought occurred to me as I hit that I need to lose weight, seriously that is what I thought, lose weight so when I go down next time it won’t be as hard and hurt so much.

I scraped both palms and both knees, one of my knees harder than the other. No one seemed to notice, none of the drivers or pedestrians and I just got up and went on.

When I got home later (I taught the whole class and only modified how much time we spent on our knees) I took some codeine and went to bed.

Diego hopped up on my legs and wanted to lick my knees. Eek.

Gratefully I was able to sleep okay and today I have some difficulty and discomfort with my left knee and still feel a bit out of kilter but otherwise I am fine.

I am thankful for many things. My freedom of movement (if stiffly) today is one of them.

And that I may be able to get out this evening and look at more roses. :) It is not supposed to be quite as hot.

Last updated May 23, 2017