Five Things I Learned from My Sprained Ankle
[Disclaimer] Displaying an image of my swollen foot in this blog is the last thing I want to do. Yeah its no way flattering and nowhere encouraging. But sometimes there are pleasant things that can emerge from awful situations.
I had an affair with badminton. But last Saturday, we had a misunderstanding and had to cool off.
It was a nightmare. This is me being competitive and trying to cover the back of the court, reaching for the shuttle, made a bad footwork and twisted my right ankle. The memory was highly vivid, I can still hear the "pop" in my ankle as I loose my balance, swing my entire body weight to the right and hit the floor. It happened instantly but in that moment everything seems like a slow-motion movie as I saw frame by frame of my surrounding vision before landing the floor. My mind was cruising, what had just happened to me? Immediately I attempted to stand from the floor but my right foot was uncomfortable, I cannot move it. The pain in my leg brought me back to reality and awareness that I sprained my ankle.
At that point I knew I had to stop playing, maybe not just that day but for the next one or two weeks who knows? This sprain injury forced me to be in a slow-paced routine compared to my active daily grind, but I have to say I'm learning a lot from it. Here are some of my realisation as I undergo my road to recovery:
1. Mobility can be expensive, but oftentimes we take it for granted. We walk everyday, run on some occasions without a hint of appreciation to our legs. Our feet bring us to places we want to explore, take us to people we love and carry us to activities we enjoy. Our feet give us freedom, don't wait for that freedom to be taken away from you before you find the gratitude.
2. Learned a simple home treatment for sprain - RICE. Extra please! 😂In an unfortunate situation of finding yourself hurting your ankle or any part of your body, remember to do the following home remedy to speed up the healing.
Rest - Avoid putting pressure on the injured area for 24 to 48 hours. Rest as much as you can;
Ice - Apply an ice pack as soon as possible for 15-20minutes and do it as often for the first 24-48 hours;
Compress - Wrap the injured area to prevent swelling. You can use bandage or ankle support;
Elevate - Raise the sore body part above your heart. This will reduce pain, throbbing and internal bleeding that leads to bruises.
3. Recovery is as important as your workout. I hear this a lot of times, but this week this became very real to me. Rest days are critical to any sports or training. Recovery allows your body to replenish and repair the broken tissues/muscles.
4. Our body is so efficient it has self-healing power - given the proper nutrients and ample time to recover. Some of the miracles of God in our daily lives that we often fail to recognise because maybe, just maybe we are too busy to even noticed it or we feel entitled that our body is supposed to operate that way.
5. Every single setback that happens to us passes through the hand of God. This reminder is enough to calm my nerves, as I undergo this unfamiliar injury(at least to me) for the first time. With all the questions floating in my head, why this accident happened now, I learned to ask the right question - What is God actually trying to teach me in this circumstance. Knowing that everything that can potentially happen to us is known to God comforts my soul. Praise God that nothing can escape from the omniscience of our Heavenly Father.
Got my right ankle x-ray result last Saturday and its negative for bone fracture or dislocation. Praise God!
I had an affair with badminton. But last Saturday, we had a misunderstanding and had to cool off.
It was a nightmare. This is me being competitive and trying to cover the back of the court, reaching for the shuttle, made a bad footwork and twisted my right ankle. The memory was highly vivid, I can still hear the "pop" in my ankle as I loose my balance, swing my entire body weight to the right and hit the floor. It happened instantly but in that moment everything seems like a slow-motion movie as I saw frame by frame of my surrounding vision before landing the floor. My mind was cruising, what had just happened to me? Immediately I attempted to stand from the floor but my right foot was uncomfortable, I cannot move it. The pain in my leg brought me back to reality and awareness that I sprained my ankle.
At that point I knew I had to stop playing, maybe not just that day but for the next one or two weeks who knows? This sprain injury forced me to be in a slow-paced routine compared to my active daily grind, but I have to say I'm learning a lot from it. Here are some of my realisation as I undergo my road to recovery:
1. Mobility can be expensive, but oftentimes we take it for granted. We walk everyday, run on some occasions without a hint of appreciation to our legs. Our feet bring us to places we want to explore, take us to people we love and carry us to activities we enjoy. Our feet give us freedom, don't wait for that freedom to be taken away from you before you find the gratitude.
2. Learned a simple home treatment for sprain - RICE. Extra please! 😂In an unfortunate situation of finding yourself hurting your ankle or any part of your body, remember to do the following home remedy to speed up the healing.
Rest - Avoid putting pressure on the injured area for 24 to 48 hours. Rest as much as you can;
Ice - Apply an ice pack as soon as possible for 15-20minutes and do it as often for the first 24-48 hours;
Compress - Wrap the injured area to prevent swelling. You can use bandage or ankle support;
Elevate - Raise the sore body part above your heart. This will reduce pain, throbbing and internal bleeding that leads to bruises.
3. Recovery is as important as your workout. I hear this a lot of times, but this week this became very real to me. Rest days are critical to any sports or training. Recovery allows your body to replenish and repair the broken tissues/muscles.
4. Our body is so efficient it has self-healing power - given the proper nutrients and ample time to recover. Some of the miracles of God in our daily lives that we often fail to recognise because maybe, just maybe we are too busy to even noticed it or we feel entitled that our body is supposed to operate that way.
5. Every single setback that happens to us passes through the hand of God. This reminder is enough to calm my nerves, as I undergo this unfamiliar injury(at least to me) for the first time. With all the questions floating in my head, why this accident happened now, I learned to ask the right question - What is God actually trying to teach me in this circumstance. Knowing that everything that can potentially happen to us is known to God comforts my soul. Praise God that nothing can escape from the omniscience of our Heavenly Father.
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| Day 01: Swollen ankle |
“From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth—he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do” (Psalm 33:13-15).
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).In a split second, your priorities can shift. This incident somehow made me re-evaluate them #midlifecrisis. What am I doing with my life? Why am I doing what I'm doing? Where do I spent my time, energy and resources? Is it even worth it? Honestly for the past few months, I felt like a drifting wood in the river, I have no goals whatsoever. I try to make myself busy with activities like badminton, exercise, work and the like, which are not actually bad. Yes I am active but am I productive with things that matters the most?
“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” (John 6:27).P.S
Got my right ankle x-ray result last Saturday and its negative for bone fracture or dislocation. Praise God!
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