Better Safe, Than Sorry……
I can’t express this enough. On Sunday, September 24, I was practicing handstands at my boyfriend’s house like we do at the studio. Being an aerial student I have kicked up into handstands at the studio more times than I can count. On this particular day, I was at my boyfriends working on handstands. In his house, he only has one wall that has enough space for handstand practice. I moved all objects out of the way and began practicing. I had done two handstands and held each of them for 30 seconds. In between the stands I would come down to rest.
As I went up into my third handstand, I did not have my hands placed properly. My shoulders were not square and my left hand was slightly behind my right, causing my left arm to carry most of my weight. My left elbow buckled sending me flying down the wall to the left. Remember how I said I had moved all objects out of the way?
Hitting the Floor
Well, turns out I did not move the kitchen table out of the way enough. As I came crashing down out of the handstand, I fell down the wall sideways, smashing my left shin on the table. Hitting your shin on anything is painful in any cause, but smashing it on to the edge of the table was one of the worst pains I have ever experienced. As I hit the floor my stomach did a flip flop and I was sure I was going to throw up. My leg started to swell and walking was almost impossible. I immediately applied ice and thought of how I could have been so stupid to not move the table further away.
As the afternoon went by my leg continued to swell and started bruising, but I could walk. When my boyfriend came home, he had a good laugh about the whole situation, until he saw my leg. Then it wasn’t so funny. He wanted to rush me to the emergency room, but since I could walk on it I decided not to go in. As the week passed my leg continued to bruise and be very swollen. That Wednesday, after I hurt my leg I finally went to the doctor. Thankfully, I did not break or fracture my leg, but the doctor said I was very close to it. By doctor’s rules I was not allowed to do any intense workouts. Meaning no Aerial Dance! 🙁
Two Weeks Out
I am now two weeks out, and the swelling has gone down quite a bit and the bruising is starting to fade. I still cannot apply pressure to my left shin without a shooting pain, but in time that will heal too. This week, I was able to resume my regular workout schedule! Having to take a week off from Aerial Dance was pure torture in itself. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I had broken my leg. Here are some pictures of my bruise progress so far.
Practicing at Home
Please learn from my experience, be sure you have the appropriate amount of space! It doesn’t matter if it is only working out, practicing handstands/dead lifts, or if you have your own apparatus at home! Having the correct amount of space will save you from injuring yourself! It could mean the difference between a week off for a minor injury or several weeks to months off for severe injury. It will be weeks before I am fully recovered, and I only bruised my bone.
Be Safe Out There Fellow Aerial Artists!
Until Next Time,
Janelle