Looking Forward to 2015

I will be happy to see 2015 because 2014 was the year of multiple injuries for me.

In March I broke my right index finger playing basketball when standing under the hoop waiting for a rebound, my finger was in the way of an elbow. I kept it in a splint for 8 weeks and tried my best not to play basketball during that time.

Less than a month after throwing away the finger splint, I went to the gym on a Saturday to work out with a personal trainer and my left knee swelled up later that day. I have lifted heavy in the past, but that Saturday workout was pretty light. I have injured my right knee in the past due to landing on it when tripped in a pickup basketball game, but never had an issue with my left knee before.

Because I did not had a hard impact on my left knee, I didn't know how badly it was hurt. I kept trying to workout and play basketball, but my leg refused to loosen up. After a couple of weeks, I decided to give it 6 weeks off and not play until my birthday in August. Apparently something was a little worse than I expected as I have experience a different kind of pain from my lower left hamstring when sitting down. My left hamstring doesn't bother me too much when standing up and moving around. Unfortunately, my knee bothered me so much this past June, that I gained 25 pounds due to depression, eating too much and I nearly stopped exercising.

My knee is feeling pretty good and doesn't appear to be tight anymore. My hamstring still causes me pain especially when driving my car. I know you are thinking that I should just stop driving my car, but that's not happening.

I did not go to the doctor to have my finger checked out because it was obvious to me that I broke it. It healed fine. I also did not go to the doctor about my knee for many reasons. Either the doctor will tell me to keep it elevated and alternate using heat and a cold pack on it or he may recommend me to have a surgery to repair it that I cannot afford. I have seen so many people have their knee operated on only to require another surgery 2 or 3 years later to repair it again.

I was hoping to be done with injuries once my knee healed. My knee was still was still bothering me as it felt like I was getting pokes with needles under my knee cap for about 3 basketball games before it loosened up. That sucks when you are about tired after playing 3 games of basketball. lol

My strength in my left leg was already deminished from injury, but it really frustrated me that it didn't appear to be getting better. One day it clicked in my head that I was experencing the same kind of pain that I felt in my right knee almost 2 years prior. I learned that by changing my sleepping position, it reduced the strain on my knee and my knee would not bother me as much.

Changing my sleeping position worked again, but by having less knee pain, it allowed my foot to hurt more. Apparently someone stepped on my left foot around the beginning of November and I never had it checked out due to my belief in self healing. I have noticed that when I play basketball, my foot would hurt bad that evening and the next day. It would be difficult for me to walk without wearing shoes around the house. When I sit in the car, it will take me about 5 minutes of walking for my foot to loosen up so I wouldn't limp. I kept playing on it and I try to move around on the basketball court and not be stationary, but I found myself doing less and less.

On Saturday, December 27th, I decided that I will give my foot 8 weeks off of running and doing anything of high impact. I have found myself doing a lot of walking over the past month also that I will slow down and try to avoid for the next 8 weeks. I will try to eat better, hit the weights a little harder and come into 2015 as healthy as I can.

I don't believe in making a New Year's resolution as I feel that you need to make those decisions with planning and preparation. In effect I guess that is a New Year's resolution. I am fininshing this on New Year's Eve, so with that being said... I will be very healthy and eat better. I resigned from my investment company before Thanksgiving so I can move into the right position going into the new year. 2015 will be the year of significant change for me and my family.