Anatomy of a Fall

This fall was nothing unusual, even typical for me. What is different is I am now hyper-aware of how my body responds to everything.

I was trying to get one of our cats into the carrier for a vet visit on Thursday afternoon. Not only did she escape but I instinctually spun around to catch her. My left foot never moved even though the rest of me did. It was as if my ankle was a ball and socket joint! When I put my right foot down my left ankle, followed by the left knee, gave out and down I went. I couldn't stand back up until I popped my ankle. What was interesting is that my joints (hips, knees, ankles, and areas of my feet and toes) hurt but not as much as the muscles. My back did not even bother me much, and all discomfort was gone after a good night's sleep. My legs took longer; only easing up the throbbing in the muscles and soreness in the joints as of yesterday evening.

I need to find a way to deal with the discomfort I am having other than being stoic. I've given up on acetaminophen. Since two extra strength capsules make me light-headed I am leery of taking more, but those two do nothing for the muscle or joint discomfort. Warmth helps, but not completely and not when there is a major atmospheric weather change. Cold doesn't help at all and sometimes makes it worse. Alcohol makes me forget I hurt, but I can still tell the discomfort is there. Chiropractic helps with my spine, but unrealistic for everyday unless I convince Tree to become a chiropractor. Aspirin and ibuprofen both have dangerous results for me or I would try those. I am on the lookout for more ideas to try since it is not like this is actually painful and I don't want to take chances with pharmaceuticals.