Most injuries heal quickly but some are frustratingly here to stay. Over the past two decades, my body has taken a fair bit of pounding, sometimes at my own instigation, sometimes not. So far, I think I’ve managed to keep it ticking over well considering its mileage.
I’ve played hockey regularly since I was twelve, and been a keen adventure sportsman since the age of sixteen. Courtesy of Her Maj, I have been paid to do sports and activities that many only dream about, and yet that same benefactor sometimes insisted on pushing my body beyond what it should normally be expected to do, leaving a few painful legacies.
I am seldom reckless with my own body these days. Surrounded by athletes and players, I have watched some drop by the wayside, a single, bad injury spelling the end of their active lifestyle. I would be lying if I said it didn’t worry me. I can minimise the risk in my chosen sports only to a fixed extent: it is the external factors which usually do the damage. Other players, falling rocks, rising water, an unseen obstacle: these you cannot take into account.
While injuries can heal well, repeated damage can be insidious. Long-distance running with weight in boots, frequent twisting and jumping on hard surfaces – joints can only take so much mistreatment before they start to complain. And by that time, the damage has probably already been done.
This pain is a warning, and one which you can choose to ignore. But at your peril.
