In the Wee Hours

The internet is a dangerous tool when it's three in the morning and you're in so much pain that you can't sleep.  Inevitably you boot up your computer and start searching for a diagnosis for the symptoms that you have.  This really isn't the best of ideas, since in the wee hours of the night, your imagination takes flight and you become convinced that what you have can only have the direst of consequences.

I've been progressively having problem with pain in my left leg, but I shrugged it off as one of those inevitable aspects of aging.  I became a tad more diligent with regards to my glucosamine consumption and tried to improve my core strength at the gym.  I accept that by playing hockey I'm likely to suffer a few injuries madwomanofhockey.blogspot.com/2010/10/thats-gonna-hurt.html, if I didn't want to take a chance on being injured playing a game, I'd try a tamer sport, but I thrive on the intensity of hockey!  Of course this cavalier attitude went to heck in a hand basket once the real pain set in.  Somehow, and I still don't know how, I managed to pinch a nerve at the L2 portion of my spine (this is the area just at the top of your butt, right below your lower back).  I can't attribute it to any particular injury, hockey or otherwise.  During my Friday night game I was impaled by my own stick into my abdomen, a combination of not being able to stop in time while going in for the puck and being pushed by an opposing player.  I have a lovely bruise on my tummy - you know that section below your shoulder pads and above your hockey pants - ouch!  Yet even with my High School anatomy, I know the stomach muscles are not connected to the spine and this was enough to bruise, not damage anything severely - heck I even kept playing, I was more worried about my stick, since it had been bent quite a bit.

My left leg had been bothering me all day Friday, but off I went to hockey with a I'll just skate it off attitude.  It actually felt better after the game and I felt justified in my decision to play, but later that night I woke up in incredible pain, unable to find a comfortable position lying down or sitting.  I spent most of the night pacing the floor and looking up maladies on the internet that included pain in one leg accompanied by numbness and a tingling sensation.  Of course it was during the darkest hours that I was convinced I had ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) or perhaps some sort of tumour pressing on a nerve.  Yes, as wonderful as the internet can be, it can be very dangerous, since a little bit of knowledge can be very dangerous at three in the morning.

The weekend was a haze of pain, heating pads, ibuprofen, and constant shifting of my body in an effort to find a comfortable spot.  With a heavy heart, I decided not to play Sunday night since I was terrified of injuring myself any further.  This is the first time I've missed a hockey game due to injury.  Sure I've missed for family vacations, family functions and to donate blood, but never for sickness or injury!  I guess it was bound to happen some time or another, but I still felt badly for doing so.

I spent a few hours at the chiropractor today.  The intense pain is gone, but it's still stiff and the numbness and tingling still remains.  I'm getting a good look at my mortality or at least my frailty.  I have exercises along with ice/heat regimins to complete and I'll be back with the chiropractor on Wednesday.  I know I have to treat this like a bump in the road, but pain is a cruel taskmaster and I'll be hesitant to return to hockey until I'm convinced that I won't have to spend the wee hours wondering if I have to undergo an amputation.  I think if it happens again, I'll stay away from the internet and just read a good book.