WINNERS & LOSERS

‘Tennis Elbow Back’ 

Last week I was playing tennis with my son. He’s 21 and I love to hit against him because we’re fairly well matched (talent-wise.) We also muck about, jump all over the court and make each other laugh on purpose so that we miss the ball. (Intimidation tactics) Anyway, there I was attempting to receive a passing shot when I completely missed the ball and fell backwards onto my bum. Then I ended up staying there for a few seconds and cracking up until I was cry-laughing. Cry laughing is a weird experience. Sometimes I think it’s the shock of falling over that makes us laugh, especially if you’re an adult. Kids fall over and laugh all the time but adults look extremely  awkward when they fall over. I call the phenomenon ‘when big people fall.’ (Imagine a deep and ominous voiceover when you read those words.) Anyway, after I picked myself up we kept playing, laughing and generally fooling about until the set was over. I can’t remember who won. It could’ve been 6-4 me or 6-4 him. All I remember is that the set score was 6-4. If I had won, I wasn’t a winner for long.

The day after that sailed along but  two days later, post falling, I couldn’t lean forward without having to bend my knees and it hurt. My tailbone (did we once have a tail) was killing me. It’s weird that there was such a lag between the fall on the tennis court and the pain directly related to the fall. Interestingly, I had cleaned the house because we were having friends for dinner and it was about three pm when I dropped a tea towel and discovered that I couldn’t pick it up. It’s funny to think about now, but when you have an injury that involves your back, you tend to drop everything and just stare in fury at the things you’ve dropped. I couldn’t even bend down to give the dog a smacko! I started to wonder why the washing machine, the drier, the dishwasher weren’t all affixed to the wall to make life easier. The slow way I moved, back muscles spasming, made me take the whole thing very personally. I was mad. I was super mad. I told the physiotherapist how mad I was as I lay on her therapy table, my face in a hole swearing at the carpet. Age just isn’t fair. In Grade 3 I could fall and still be running around two days later but with this backward bum bump, the outcome was dramatically different. Suffice to say, tennis elbow back does not make you feel young!.