Thinking back I would say my worst injury ever occurred about 10 years ago while I was rollerblading. I take every precaution to be safe during rollerblading by wearing a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards but what happened to me could not have been prevented by normal safety gear.
When I was young and brave I used to get up at 5 am and go rollerblading or running by myself at a local park which had a 1.5 mile paved loop. I had done this loop a million times but this one particular morning one little tiny stick caused an immense amount of damage. I can remember the moment I feel as if it was yesterday. I was just about to finish my first loop when I hit a stick while rollerblading which completely wiped me off my feet. I pretty much flew backward, hit my butt and shoulder hard on the ground and flew into the nearby fence. I must have screamed because these to runners came back to see if I was okay which at that point I felt more embarrassed than injured so I quickly jumped up, wiped myself off and told them I was great.
I actually had planned on doing my second loop but discovered I was bleeding from the side of my knee and shoulder so I decided to head home. As I sat in the car I knew something was really wrong because I just had shooting pain up and down my body and I barely made the drive home to my apartment. I called my mother because we worked together in a doctor’s office and she could barely understand me because I was hysterical from the pain. I was so incomprehensible she actually asked me if I was getting divorced…..funny now but then I was screaming at her that I was injured.
I ended up at the orthopedist as they opened their doors but still waited 2 hours to see a doctor only to find out I broke my coccyx bone (tail bone).
I will tell you that there is nothing that can be done for a fractured coccyx bone except to stay of the area which is difficult to say the least and to take pain medication. I basically could not sit in a chair for about 2 weeks and then I could only sit if I used a donut for about another 8 weeks. I can tell you this took almost a year to completely heal and for me to feel normal again. This was by far the worst injury I have ever gotten and the most painful.
It took my awhile to start rollerblading again because I was afraid of falling again but I will not let fear stand in my way of doing something I enjoy. I still wear all my protective gear but unfortunately there is not gear to protect my tailbone so hopefully I will never fall on it again.
What was your worst injury???
Oh my – ouch!! I’ve fallen when I was a figure skater on my butt and bruised my coccyx, but I know fractures there are a million times worse because there is such a low blodd supply to that area that it heals so slowly – ouch!!
Janice @ Fitness Cheerleader recently posted..The Worst Injuries I’ve Ever Had
Oh man, it’s the worst pain I hear. My good friend broke hers and she won’t go on roller coasters or anything that bounces hard for fear of it re-injuring. It’s tough to get through injuries there isn’t anything they can help with. I had same issue with my ribs.
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Ribs are painful too, I broke a rib coughing while I was pregnant and that pain was pretty bad too……
Yeah, if you’re going to do it, do it right lol
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Oh no! I love to Rollerblade too, and I’ve definitely fallen plenty of times. Luckily , I’ve never seriously injured myself on a fall, but I have some epic huge scars on my shoulders and arms where I bit it. Ouch.
Rollerblading is a dangerous sport….
Yikes. That is no fun. Although I don’t think I’ve ever broken my tail bone I know that I’ve definitely bruised it. As for my worst injury? When I was in 6th grade I belonged to our school ski club. It was a mild weather day (too mild to be skiing) and I ended up hitting a patch of ice on my last run of the day, fell, and broke my femur in half. Long story short I ended up in traction for a month and then a body cast for a nothing. It was a very trying time but I made it!
Heidi @BananaBuzzbomb recently posted..Adventure Is My Middle Name
OWWWW! That is horrible Heidi, just thinking about it makes me cringe. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger…right?!?!
OMG. That’s horrifying! How scary and painful. I can’t imagine not sitting for 2 weeks!
Sarah (@100CalsPerMile) recently posted..The Worst Injury You’ve Ever Had
Oh no, a broken coccyx sounds awful! I haven’t had anything that bad happen to me so far (knock on wood), only a pretty badly sprained ankle from goofing around with my boyfriend.
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Ouch. I broke my tailbone in the 7th grade falling down stairs. It hurt to sit a certain way for years! I had a roller blading accident and ended up with a concussion. No helmet, I never thought of that. My wrist guards saved me from 2 broken wrists though.
Heather (Where’s the Beach) recently posted..Chicken Pox & Chik’n Dinner
I always wear a helmet, I knew a guy who used to rollerblade without one and he fell, hit his head on the curb and literally cracked his skull in half….1000 stitches. So I dont rollerblade without out one.
I have 2 big sports related injuries:
One of my worst injuries is very similar to yours. A few years back I was playing roller derby (the cause of both the upcoming injuries)and I fell and landed right on my ass, like you thought I was OK just embarrassed and I could “walk it off” well the next day when I couldn’t sit I headed to the doctor and I had dislocated my coccyx from my hips. Just like you nothing to do but wait for it to heal. 3 months later when skating I spun around and I went one way and my left leg went the other way and I fell. I saw stars! I headed to the doctor again and the damage to my knee was bad. A torn ACL and a ripped MCL. Crutches and a brace for a few weeks and I was feeling better, I was supposed to get surgery but I asked my doctor if I would be able to skip it if I didn’t skate any more and he was hesitant but said I should be OK. It still gets stiff and pops a lot during yoga but it hasn’t *knockswood* effected my running so I think I am OK 🙂
Both injuries sound terrible..at least you avoided surgery and pops and clicks are okay….
Man oh man! That is not fun at all! 1 whole year to feel normal again?! That just sucks. I hope I never break my coccyx! How can you prepare for that? Who would think to wear a butt pad when they go rollerblading? Not me!
I would say my worst injury was when I nearly took off two of my fingers with a hedge trimmer. They were nasty, jagged cuts and I’m lucky to have all my fingers. The only bone I’ve ever broken is my wrist but that wasn’t as scary as hedging my fingers for some reason. haha!
AHHH! Just thought of that makes me cringe and I am a nurse. I am glad all your fingers are still intact!
Oh my! I just hurt thinking about it! I am so glad you are back in the saddle again and thanks for sharing. My worst injury was a broken little toe, which pales in comparison right now.
Have a beautiful day!
{lifeasa}RunningMom recently posted..My top 4 races in Hawai’i!
I had a little broken toe too and that is also pretty painful.
I completely feel your pain! I broke mine giving birth to my daughter in July (which I didn’t even know was possible!) It is really difficult to take care of a newborn when you can barely sit down. Her boppy pillow has saved my life!
The boppy pillow is awesome for that type of injury!!