Episode 2: Your Cells Are Confused
This past winter, I decided to eschew snowboarding, a sport I had done for 15 years, and try to learn how to ski. My husband, Jeff, is an expert skier as a native Coloradan, and my 12-year-old son was learning to ski. Plus, the last time I went snowboarding, I struggled to get off the chairlift without falling, and I was exhausted in having to sit down and strap in at the top of every run. With skiing, you just stand up and you are off the chairlift. You get to maneuver around the snowboarders and just start skiing without having to stop and strap in. How lovely.
What I overestimated was my body's ability to learn something new at age 45, especially a sport that requires stepping into slippery planks with sharp edges, though, in my opinion, edges not sharp enough to stop your momentum down a steep hill. My experience this past ski season was mixed. I enjoyed spending time with my family. I enjoyed watching Devin progress as a skier. I enjoyed watching my husband bond with my son as they gleefully whooshed down the mountain. But I was watching all of this from behind, as I slowly and carefully tried to weave down the mountain without hurting my already stiff knees. I would go down the mountain thinking, "Don't tear your ACL. Don't tear your ACL."
I did not successfully protect my knees. In fact, I am pretty sure I tore my meniscus in my previously healthy right knee. We invested in season tickets to a ski resort in Big Bear this year, and enjoyed several days there (though I usually skied until lunch and then chilled at the lodge the rest of the day). We had heard amazing things about Mammoth, so we went there over Devin's Spring Break. We found the ideal place to stay--a ski in/ski out lodge, which is the dream if you enjoy skiing or snowboarding. "This will be so much fun!" "The snow is going to be wonderful!" What we did not realize at the time we booked our room was that the ski in/ski out lodge was near a chairlift with only blue (intermediate) and black (difficult) runs. I am not an intermediate skier, but Jeff and Devin are. I braved the blue run as much as I could, but the snow, though plentiful, was thick, and my skis kept getting stuck in it. I would try to turn, and my body would proceed in a forward direction while my skis remained stationary. Eventually, my knees protested, and I felt a pop pop in my right knee. That was it. The blue run defeated me. Fortunately, a very handsome and very nice ski patroller named Jason put me on his sled and towed me down that very steep and long blue run, down to the chairlift where we started. He insisted that I go to the hospital, but I just returned to our room, turned on the fireplace, and relaxed with an ice pack on my knee. Devin and Jeff had a wonderful couple of days, while I relaxed in our room.
It has been 3 months since my unsuccessful ski tour of Mammoth, and my right knee still hurts, is stiff, and occasionally pops again. I've seen a couple of doctors, all who gawk at the lack of cartilage in my knee, and a physical therapist who gave me a solid diagnosis of a torn meniscus. I am not sure what will happen in the future with it--whether I'll live with the pain or get it repaired--but I know I will not recover as quickly as I would have 20 years ago. With every year that passes by, my recovery time increases. I haven't had any major injuries since I tore my ACL in 2017, but I tend to accrue all of these little ones. Maybe I didn't tap on time when someone gets me in an armbar during Jiu Jitsu, or I tweak my back reached down to pick up something, it will take a few weeks to feel better. (Actually my elbows generally will never be the same.)
How many commercials have you seen for supplements promising to repair our damaged bodies? How many have you fallen for? I have fallen for a bunch of them, and not one made any difference. I even tried one that said it had cobra venom in it! The reality is that nothing you can buy over-the-counter can improve your body's biology. As we age, we lose bone density, so we shrink. We lose lean muscle pass, so we lose our strength. We sadly gain weight--I know I have. There are theories that our cells become overactive, which leads to inflammation.
For some people, that means that they slow down, go from running to walking, from Cardio Boot Camp to Yoga, from Skiing to Reading a Book in the Lodge. I am making modifications, but I am not ready to give up my more extreme activities quite yet. Instead of skiing next winter, I'm going back to snowboarding. If I fall on the chairlift, I'll get up again. I have tried Yoga, and it is HARD. I have given up HIIT for lifting weights, which builds bone density, increases lean muscle mass, and does not raise cortisol like HIIT does.
I might be wrong in my thinking, but if my body is already going to break down, I would much rather have more fun and enjoy what I like to do until I absolutely can not do those things anymore. My cells are overactive, so why not join them?
#YourCellsAreConfused #LearningToSki #MidLifeInjuries #MammothSpringBreak @45LeftorRightPodcast #BadKneesin40s #MeniscusTear
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