Fitness & Health - Injuries
In addition to the usual running injuries (everyone who runs eventually gets injured - foot problems, knee problems, back problems - from overuse, improper balance or kinetic motion, lack of stretching, lack of core strength/cross-training, etc.), I have managed to do permanent damage to a few areas of my body as follows:
Tearing my right (shoulder) rotator cuff
When I was in my mid 30s (1996) I got into heavy weight lifting as a way of building more muscle mass. Shoulders are one of most complex and fragile joints in the body and I managed to rip some of the tissue in my right shoulder which put me off weight lifting for almost 5 years because of the pain and lack of mobility in my shoulder as a result of the injury. I never got an MRI but to this day my right shoulder is slightly stiff and hurts if moved to extreme positions.
Tearing my left (knee) medial meniscus
As per my running story above, a fall from a ladder did me in here. Unlike many people who manage to tear this body part as a result of overuse, my injury was more severe and therefore I suffered a longer than usual recovery period, post surgery, as well as permanent limitations in the use of my knee for sports or running.
The video of my knee surgery (3:53 min:sec, 25MB)
Performed by Dr. Brian Day at his Cambie Surgery Clinic, October 2004
With my high-tech Breg Fusion XT sports brace I can do most sports:
(click here for more information on the Breg Fusion XT brace)
