kaberett | Footnotes

1. I've cracked my fourth metatarsal.

2. ... probably?

3. The X-ray was... inconclusive? but there was some kind of irregularity on the bone around where all the soreness is?

4. I'll keep an eye out for the report from the fracture clinic, said the person treating me. Because it would be an... interesting... mechanism... for fracture... but that doesn't mean it's impossible...?

5. I have a boot to wear while doing weight-bearing Anything on it.

6. Nobody is entirely sure what to do about my orthotic insoles.

7. My follow-up with the fracture clinic is on the 11th of January.

8. why am i Like This

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

kaberett

Point 4 is, obviously, medic for "... HOW?"

To which I have to say:

You know the thing where you sit down cross-legged, all in one motion, from standing? Which I do all the time and which is normally fine?

...

The carpet was slipperier than I expected. So I attempted to sit down to do some physio, ended up doing a less-than-controlled fall that involved bending my toes over and putting a lot of weight through my fourth metatarsal, and the going OW OW OW FUCK and lying down very still for a moment while the nausea and dizziness subsided.

WHY am i LIKE THIS

From:

cosmolinguist

Oh yeah that makes sense. I could totally see myself breaking my foot that way.

From:

vass

It is definitely an impressive ~~feet~~ feat.

Fucking metatarsals, they are the worst.

(And yes, I know the thing where you sit down cross-legged that way. I can't do it in reverse, but I can sit down that way.)

WHY am i LIKE THIS

Ask your collagen. It knows what it did.

From:

davidgillon

Ask your collagen. It knows what it did.

Belated applause for this line!

From:

ewt

Ergggh. And yeah, totally plausible mechanism.

From:

kaberett

I suspect they're not used to feet being flexible enough that you can get them into the position to put sufficient force through the bone to damage it, that way.

From:

ewt

My brain: but I can do that! aren't everyone's feet that fle...oh, right.

I have never, to my knowledge, broken a bone, but I assume this is because I inherited properly dense bones from my paternal grandfather.

Content note: a bit morbid . . . . .

Er, not literally, but genetically.

(The difference in the cremation remains between him and my grandmother was fascinating.)

From:

kaberett

HA. <3

From:

sylvaine

Re: your last paragraph: :0 I had never considered that kind of thing, wow, that must have been super interesting!

From:

ewt

I mean, he was moderately active in his retirement and died after a short round of chemo and a shorter bout of pneumonia, and she had osteoporosis and died over a decade after not reeeeeally recovering walking mobility after the second hip operation, but, yeah. Very different ashes. His were gritty and heavy, and hers so light that when the family went to scatter them, most of them (ashes, not family) blew away.

I guess the crematorium might have changed machines in between, I don't really know much about the technical side.

(I don't think scattering human remains is strictly legal these days because prions, but at the time the legislation hadn't caught up, I think.)

From:

jesse_the_k

This is the high-quality discourse I am here for.

From:

sylvaine

*chinhands* This is so interesting, thank you for elaborating :D

From:

cadenzamuse

From:

sylvaine

Augh /o\

Also, gdi, your title xD

From:

kaberett

THANK YOU I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH MYSELF

From:

rmc28

As you should be :-)

From:

kaberett

From:

ghoti

yes this.

From:

kaberett

♥

From:

batrachian

*goes back to reread, because apparently i glossed it the first time*

*stops and stares*

*breaks out giggling*

From:

kaberett

:D :D :D :D :D

THANK YOU FOR APPRECIATING ME

From:

batrachian

From:

fyreharper

:also scrolls back up to the title and then has a giggle:

Ouch though. Bodies, whyyyyy.

From:

tree_and_leaf

Owwwwwwww.

From:

kaberett

The magic boot means I'm now actually walking on it inside the house without yelping, so that's something!

From:

tree_and_leaf

I'm glad there's at least that!

$mdlbear: blue fractal bear with text "since 2002" (Default)$

From:

mdlbear

Beats a knee scooter

From:

kaberett

I had been using one of the wheelchairs, which I normally prefer not to inside!

From:

lunabee34

*hugs*

From:

oracne

Owwwwwwwww. Weird injuries are the worst because you have to keep explaining to people.

From:

booksarelife

Ouch!

From:

white_hart

Ouch! Feet are very fragile things. I hope it's better soon!

From:

azurelunatic

Goodness!

From:

alexwlchan

Yee-ouch. Sympathies.

I approve of the title.

You know the thing where you sit down cross-legged, all in one motion, from standing? Which I do all the time and which is normally fine?

In the context of your talking to a confused medic, I cannot tell if this is a slightly sarcastic “this is something unusual for most people that is routine for me”. Is it?

I can imagine how that works, and I think I see how you could overload the toe if it goes wrong. (Lift up right foot, swing it to your left as you bend the left knee and lean leftwards. The right foot gets to the endpoint, then they fold down together. I’m struggling in this conference room, but doesn't feel like it needs masses more flexibility. If it goes pear-shaped, the left foot takes the strain. Symmetric under mirroring of feet.) I'm not a medic, so I assume this doesn't work like I imagine?

I would ask for a demonstration next time I see you, but I fear that may be tempting fate! :p

Edited Date: 2018-12-18 03:05 pm (UTC)

From:

kaberett

It's not a particularly unusual thing but is a thing that's an excellent proxy for end-of-life health!

bodies_in_motion and

rydra_wong have been discussing it in more detail with onward links.

So yeah, it works pretty much like you're imagining! it's just that most people don't have the flexibility to bed their toes/ball of foot quite that far toward the arch of their foot without something else going wrong first, AND UNFORTUNATELY...

From:

alexwlchan

Huh, interesting. I might add that to irregular physio routine, insofar as I have a “routine”.

I tried at home on a well-known carpet and without shoes, and yeah, I can just about get down in a single motion. But it’s right on the cusp of what’s possible, and if I did it repeatedly I can easily see myself toppling over.

OH DEAR. Hope you’re not in too much pain at this point?