This is going to cause some of you a really big laugh – I can see it coming…….
I went to the gym on Saturday, as usual and as I have been doing (with 2 breaks when moving house) for over 19 years. I was running on the treadmill, as I have been for…..etc. etc. and my ankle started to hurt a bit, so I ignored it as these things tend to come and go a bit. But, when I got off I could hardly walk! It didn’t cause any serious problems when driving, so I was able to get home, but it didn’t get any better. People at church (when I managed to limp there) suggested it might be the Achilles tendon, which was what I feared. Suggestions were using a tubigrip bandage, anti-inflammatory tablets, “well I always said the gym was a mistake”……
So today I took myself to the doctor who wiggled and poked things and said it is NOT the Achilles tendon but just a “soft tissue injury”. He said it is likely to take 2 to 3 weeks to get better, so I am not a happy bunny, as you might guess. To facilitate healing he suggested RICE! No, not the food but rest, ice, compression and elevation – sounds really boring! He said I could go to the gym, though, so long as I don’t run on the treadmill and suggested walking uphill. I tried it and it is as boring as I suspected AND I burned up about 2/3 of my usual calories, even though I spent longer than usual on the bike.
So, I am being a grumpy old woman. Can’t use up enough calories so I will either put on weight (no comments please) or have to eat less; can’t do the only thing I really like doing at the gym; my ankle hurts when I walk and it will take months to get back to my normal gym programme. Grump, grump, grump……