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Pushing your physical limits too far?

Aug 29 04:11

I have a tendency to always think I’m a wee bit lazy. You know how it is when you’re disabled; you always think there’s more you could - most likel -, but only if you pushed yourself (and when do we have the time to push ourselves?). I have these fantasies where I think I could probably transfer myself if I just dedicated myself to it for a year. Or like last night, when I though I could become a dynamo veggie chopper, only to wake up the next morning with a sore, throbbing wrist. Thanks C6 quad-dom.

It can be so easy to push yourself too far in my situation. In our situations. All I wanted was to experiment, to see if my sharp Chef’s knife was a good enough cutlery item to carry me through two hours of chopping baby red onions and chicken breasts. It was only two hours. Not long, right? Well, little did I forget that my wrist tendons, the few that I can still move since my neck injury, couldn’t take the heat. I awoke this morning with a shooting pain up my wrist like I’ve never felt before. Brilliant. I finally found my wrist’s tipping point. Two hours of chopping is too much? Not fair. So as it turns out, no, I was not lazy for not chopping all those years. I was smart.

Its SO weird having your body get tuckered after the seemingly no-big-deal-chore of chopping veggies. Now if I was a line cook and it was my chop to chop all day, 8 hours straight, now getting sore arms after chopping all day would be understandable. But in a situation like mine, what’s “understandable?” When is stopping too soon? Its so hard accepting new bodily limitations. We all struggle with it as we age. I for one always have a hard time when I attempt new things, feeling hopeful, thinking “THIS I’ll still be able to do,” only to realize yeah…can’t do that either.

Having to nurse a sore wrist for only chopping a few onions and a piece of meat seems like an injustice somehow, but then again, at least I can hold a knife and chop.

Must stay positive, must be thankful for all I can still do. And above all, I must preserve my mobility by learning to be ok with what I can’t do.

Ever pushed yourself to injury?

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1. labowner | Sep 01 10:48

Yes. I decide for example that I will sit at my computer for hours typing. Not Good for anyone. For me my spasms go out of control along with some joint pain. My disability really doesn't get to me too much but I Will somehow learn to age with divine grace. Not there yet. But I am working on it.

2. Powerchair Pimp | Oct 05 10:34

Yep, I've even had to deal with some educated moron who thought she knew WTF she was doing bothering me and I had to get her to back off. The next week I saw her she insisted on moving me with out asking. I do push myself but I try not to over do it.

Spin 2.0

By Tiffiny Carlson

Tiffiny Carlson Disability buzz, travel, fashion and dating — fun things to amp up everyday wheeling life.

Tiffiny Carlson is freelance writer and writes the “SCI Life” column for New Mobility. She's also a C6 quad from a diving accident that occurred when she was 14 years old. A lifelong resident of Minneapolis, Tiffiny has been a writer in the disability community for over 10 years and writes for several publications and blogs, as well as her personal blog BeautyAbility. Her work has also appeared in mainstream publications such as Nerve.com and Playgirl.