Billski asked about the long-term effects of my injuries. As it was off topic in the original thread, ("Cell Phone Pinging Cell Towers?",
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40455, post #29) I am answering it here.
billski said:
Incredible. Do you hike or do other sports differently now? I sure do. My family made it perfectly clear that I put them at risk as well. Another thread.
It is now four and a fraction years from the accident. All bones are fully healed, but there are some lasting effects:
* Left wrist: plate still in place. I'm basically unaware of its presence.
* Left leg: The hip screws have been removed but the nail (rod) is still in my femur.
- Slight loss of hip flexibility, occasional mild ache.
- Reduced flexibility of the knee joint. (I can only get my heel to ~5 inches from my butt--I used to be able to touch my heel to my butt.)
- The leg was 1 cm longer than the other leg, it is now .5 cm shorter than the other leg.
- The leg is twisted about 15 degrees inward
- The muscles are still a bit weak and I have had significant difficulty with overtraining of the quads. I continue to do exercises to strengthen the leg muscles.
Effects on "normal" activities:
* When I first get up in the morning, my left leg feels short and I feel like I am limping, but I soon get used to it. (I wear a lift in my left shoe to reduce the difference.)
* If I stand and adjust my feet so they feel to be at a neutral position, I find that my left foot points ~15 degrees inward compared to the right foot.
* When walking I twist my pelvis slightly (backward on the left) to compensate for the twist. I suspect an astute observer would notice a slight limp.
* I can't walk quite as fast as I used to: I used to be able to do 3.9 mph--I now typically walk 2.9--3.2 mph and only recently reached 3.7 mph by pushing fairly hard. (However, fast walking causes pounding which can cause overtraining--see below.)
* I feel as if I have to be careful going down stairs if the leg muscles are cold--I'm never quite sure how strong they are until I have made a few steps.
Effects on sports:
* Walking: mostly just a bit slower
* Biking: the twist bothers my knee from the constant deep flexing. It becomes painful unless I raise the seat to the highest position at which I can still pedal properly. It is a bit awkward, the bike is less stable, and standing up when going over bumps doesn't work as well as it should, but it is workable.
* Hiking: I've stuck with lighter duty day hikes since the accident. I'm not confident that the leg is strong enough to move safely on steep downhills so I use poles very aggressively on the downhills to help. Hopefully I will be able to build the muscles sufficiently to overcome this problem.
* XC Skiing: I had to adjust initially to the twist, but it is now fully automatic. As long as I am not on steep downhills, I am fine. (I was able to do a 27.5 miler in 28.5 hours this winter...)
* Tele Skiing: I started out well the first winter after the accident, but the pounding of descending on NE groomers caused overtraining of the quads. I have taken the last two winters off from Tele skiing in the hopes that I can beat the overtraining.
* Skiing kick turn: Kick turns have always been difficult for me, now they are impossible due to the twist.
* Skiing in general: I find I am more timid on the steeper downhills in the trees than I used to be. (I wasn't all that bold under those conditions before the accident either... I don't mind steep open slopes or wide trails--nothing to hit.) Perhaps this is a direct effect of the accident, perhaps it is due to my lack of practice on such terrain since the accident, and/or perhaps it is an effect of the weak leg.
I have learned (by trial and error (error=injury) that the overtraining is caused by excessive eccentric contractions of the quads which occur during pounding of downhill skiing, fast walking, or downhill hiking. I took over a year off in the hope that the quads would heal and have been rebuilding and recreating carefully.
So in general I can do most of what I used to be able to do, but have had to stick to the lighter duty versions. I continue to work on rebuilding the leg muscles, but still have to deal with the threat of overtraining.
Doug
