Athletic Ability and Injury

I think an argument can also be made from the standpoint that if you are athletic, you tend to push yourself more, take more risks, etc. and as a result, have the potential for more injuries. The trick for me was to learn how to calculate risks…be it with stunts, swimming faster/harder in certain sets, lifting more weight, whatever. I've found that the older I get, the more I listen to my body, and am a little more mindful of preventative measures than I was when I was 20. Now here's a banana to slip on. :banana:

So the question I pose, is how athletic do you think you are and how often do you get hurt? Do you think you get hurt less because you are an athlete? Do you think you would get hurt less if you were more athletic? Being athletic will certainly reduce the severity of the injury compared to an untrained person for the exact same accident. But athletic abilities cannot offset carelessness or recklessness. An athlete bombing down a trail on a snowboard with insufficient technique or protective gears is more likely to have an accident than a non-athlete who observes proper discipline. Learning how to fall and wearing a bump pad in snowboarding make a whole world of difference. As for swimming, all of you know (much better than I) the tricks to reduce the risks of injury. I think of good swimming techniques, stretching and dryland exercises. And may be more that I would appreciate to learn if you have some to share. Other than that, if you still get hurt then this is just bad luck. Or could that be a sub-conscious stuff? I recall a cousin who used to be so unfortunate because of his permanent clumsiness. He attracted attention and laughs all the time. One day he dropped the flashlight of my camera, I was a student and could not afford to replace it. I told him I got fed up with his ridiculous clumsiness and asked him never to touch any of my equipment. Something had clicked, because since then he paid more attention to the jobs at hands and became incidentally less clumsy.

Also Kyra, a lot of young people your age are a bit like puppies, still growing into their adult bodies. I trust the falling down is caused as you remember a particularly amusing post from the forums, as you fall down laughing...

I have a slightly different take on this one. I'm very clumsy on land. But in the water I have never hurt myself. So, I'm hypothesizing that my people evolved from the sea creatures (the ones with the duck feet). Land is not my normal medium. I try to limit myself to things that don't interfere with my swimming but that's because I'm 65 and can hear the Grim Reaper scratching around outside. There are limited years left when I can do what I really want to and I don't want anything to get in the way. I'm careful in the weight room: among my athlete friends more have been injured here than anywhere else. I'm very careful on my mountain bike: I don't race anymore and I stay away from technical rides. The main point is to provide myself with a tough workout without providing any additional danger. I don't ski as recklessly as I used to: since I gave up XC ski racing, there is no point to doing downhills that are too technical. After all, the best fitness I have all year is the result of skiing uphill. At any age, you choose your poison. As you grow older you just focus on what is really important to you. -- mel

Kyra, So, what color collar will you be wearing at Nationals?!? So I can pick you out easier! Any special treats you like- Milk Bones, Beggin' Strips, Pig Earz? :p Truthfully though. I do remember having a tough time adjusting to my height. I went from about 5'4"-5"6 in 7th grade. My feet also went from 8-9 1/2. My last stop growing was when I was 18- I grew about 1/2 inch. I'm 5'8" now and I guess I'm beginning the process of getting shorter... sigh. hahaha! That actually might have been a cause of my falling...plus I can tend to be clumsy....and flip-flops and ice is not a good mix...or just bad shoes in general.

Kyra- please define 'bad' shoes, from both a health and a fashion perspective...

Peter...bad shoes equal flip-flops year round and slip on shoes that didnt' fit tight. I also think I'm the only person in the world you can fall off flip-flops and roll my ankle. I must just be accident prone. From a fashion stand point...it depends on the shoe, the occasion, current trends, the outfit...lots of differnt factors go into it. As for hurting my shoulder swimming fly, I still don't know how I did it...and that two years ago. There was no warning signs that I felt or noticed. I really have no idea how I managed it. Which is why I swim breaststroke now. :) I do probably tend to push myself a little, but I've never felt it was beyond my limits really. You have to push your limits to improve. I'm really competitive...so that might have been a factor that caused me to push farther and not realize it. I definatley try and listen to my body...probably too much. I can be a hypocondriac sometimes. Thanks everyone for the feedback and intersting discussion. Keep talking!!

I also think I'm the only person in the world you can fall off flip-flops and roll my ankle. nope! there's at least two of us, cause i've definitely done that a time or two. and i gather fort has done the same thing too. so i guess that makes at least three. ;) and i'd like to respectfully disagree with your mom- you're getting hurt because you are an athlete. the only people who don't get hurt occasionally are couch potatoes. at least IMO.

At the beginning of every bike ride I've done (and by ride I mean a huge group ride/charity thing) people are falling at the start because of clip peddals. I fall down all the time, trip, lose my balance, etc. Fell flat on my ass in college right in front of "hot bio boy" well walking to get food ... yeah, I'm cool like that. Back in the running days I'd wipe out on average once every 6 months or so ... sometimes I'd escape injury free, sometimes I was all skinned up, sometimes I'd be limping home ...

Peter...bad shoes equal flip-flops year round and slip on shoes that didnt' fit tight. I also think I'm the only person in the world you can fall off flip-flops and roll my ankle. I must just be accident prone. From a fashion stand point...it depends on the shoe, the occasion, current trends, the outfit...lots of differnt factors go into it. My husband reminds me on at least a bi-weekly basis what a clutz I am. Mini-Fort the swimmer has likewise inherited the mega clutz gene. I am a professional ankle twister. I use flip flops year round and heels. (Peter: short and flat heels are not good, fashion-wise, and running shoes are only good for running and the gym). I am especially good at falling down stairs and tripping over things. I'm a good wall crasher too, with too much stuff floating around in my head. I tend to be oblivious to the real world on occasion. I have injured myself as a competitive masters athlete, despite being athletic and strong by nature and genetics. Once I compete, my bad. I overdo, as Peter has scolded me for. I only took up swimming after decades of desertion because of two stress fractures from excessive running. Then I promptly overdid swimming without preparing my shoulders. Now, as some have mentioned, I'm a bit smarter and more cunning about training and preventative measures. And I have temporarily at least overcome an addiction to engine building, which right now my body can't sustain. It is difficult to resist though! So I listen to my body a bit more. I rest more or cross-train or use fins to avoid endless kicking. But I do tend to fight tooth and nail to fix things and I do not accept conventional cures or wisdom. Which is why I'm a science experiment at the moment. Yes, me and the other Washington Redskins patients doing prolo. My prolo doc loves me because I am an "educated" patient willing to work at my cure. You will have injuries your whole life. (I do think competitive athletes are more prone to these from pushing themselves.) If not ill-timed injuries, something else will be sure to interfere. There is no solution but to tackle it head on and try to fix it with as much ingenuity, tenacity and Mindfulness as you can. It's either that or be a couch potato. Ugh.