Adding injury to insult (A cautionary tale)

Glaukos the Athenian · Mon Aug 24, 2009 6:23 pm

The Woods Battle...

Green paths amongst the trees, panting sounds all around and out of the green the sudden lines of the Middle and Eastern fighters...

The action evolves, the spearmen near me get killed, and we shieldmen set a mini charge to preempt a charge of our opponents, I am facing two or three opponents and swinging as I can, then I feel a wrap to my unarmored left calf. I see stars and shout in pain.

Now, I fight in a Greek harness and my greaves are excellent in melees, but a wrap to the calf is something greaves (unless they are cased greaves) cannot protect you from. As bend in pain, three sticks hit my helmet and roaring with anger I raise my sword and shout "dead" .

I drag my pained carcass a few steps back and massage my calf. I am boiling mad. getting killed is part of the business at hand, but a wrap to the lower leg, especially unarmored is just wrong. I can barely walk and using my sword as a cane I walk back to res point. There I massage my calf and I realize that while the hit has hurt me, I can stand. I just cannot walk fast or run. Unable to join Ponte Alto back on the lower side of the ravine in the left flank (I am not going down any ravine at a wobble) I just walk straight and attach myself to a lone Anglesey fighter and have there one of the longest and most memorable fights I have ever had. The Tuchux on our right show astonishingly unusual discipline, which coupled with their fighting spirit raised their value as a fighting force x10. To our left, a household of elegant fighters in 14th century gear hold the HM the King of Lochac at bay.

Finally the fight is over, and I have the time to examine my calf. It has swollen significantly but there are no visible bruises. A little yellow light starts blinking inside of my head.

A kindly Atenvenldt driver sees me walking slowly (I cannot find my extraction) gives me a lift to their camp. On my way to the lake, against my own best judgement I stop by the EMTs and ask if someone would look at my leg.

To make a long story short, later medical examination indicated that I was not hit by a wrap to my lower leg. Rather, in the middle of the fighting I sprained quite hard my calf muscles, probably causing some muscle damage. These injuries often occur under physical strain and are often described by people as "I felt as if I had been hit with a stick".
Days later my foot (which was not injured) develops a large purple bruise, from the blood that flowed down inside my leg.

In this case the remarkable part is that I was being hit by sticks, albeit on my shield, and the tension on my leg was too much and the muscle gave out, giving the same impression as being hit with a stick (sensation I am afraid I have become painfully familiar with.

So I conclude with four learning points.
1) Stretch before fighting. (I tried to do it but I was not too thorough. be thorough, especially if like me you are getting up there age wise)

2) Things happen that can completely mistake you during melees. You may be convinced of something, and your senses may be misleading you. Be open to understand events in ways that you did not at the time of the event.

3) When you cannot run, you make less stupid mistakes in a shield line, you live longer and are useful longer. I fought long and hard after I got hurt, and barely needed to crash into the enemy lines. A standing, unmovable shieldman, if part of a team, can help support and maintain a line, even if unwittingly.

4) I add here an apology to my opponents of the Middle and East on that engagement, whom I blamed for bad behavior they never engaged in. See point 2. it DID feel like being hit with a stick, and I WAS being hit by sticks. That being said, when reality becomes apparent, the explanation and apology must be made public also.

Still walking slowly.

Glaukos the Athenian

Russ Mitchell · Post by **Russ Mitchell** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:31 pm

Wasn't there, wasn't involved, have also stuck my toesies wayyyyy down my throat like that, more often than I care to admit.

Hope you heal up soon.
(I've heard recently that stretching ahead of time can actually lead to injuries. Then I talk to runners who can't make it more than 2 miles if they don't stretch. I's a very confuzzled camper on that score.)

hrolf · Post by **hrolf** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:44 pm

Russ Mitchell wrote:(I've heard recently that stretching ahead of time can actually lead to injuries. Then I talk to runners who can't make it more than 2 miles if they don't stretch. I's a very confuzzled camper on that score.)

The difference: dynamic stretching, also known as "warming up", is unequivocally good. Increases blood flow to muscles about to be worked, loosens up joints, and generally helps you focus into the mentality that you're about to do something physical.

prolonged static stretching has been contentiously shown by a few studies to slow muscle growth and reduce muscle strength in the short term, which presumably would be cited as an increased injury risk.

I think the jury is still out. I warm up before workouts and stretch out as part of my cooldown after.

Kilkenny · Post by **Kilkenny** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:14 pm

I believe that Hrolf has the gist of it. Don't "stretch" prior to engaging in activity. Instead, go through the motions of the activity at an easy pace, get the blood flowing to the muscles, remind them of what they're going to be doing.

Glaukos, sorry to hear you were hurt, glad it wasn't because someone had lousy targeting.

Personally, I got largely taken out this year by the strains of setting up camp :oops:

Leo Medii · Post by **Leo Medii** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:18 pm

To our left, a household of elegant fighters in 14th century gear hold the HM the King of Lochac at bay.

You should have come and said Hi!

Anon001 · Post by **Anon001** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:23 pm

deleted

Syrfinn · Post by **Syrfinn** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:07 pm

Yeah this happened to me 2 years ago at War Practice in AEthelmearc. Was charging on a bridge, hit the front unit, and felt like I got shot in the calf from a sniper.

For the rest of the battles, i pretty much just stood at the corner of the bridges, or at the flag when we were doing the flag battle, and hit anyone who came near me.

I blamed mine though on 2 days before I started walking stairs at work, and had walked 60 flights that day, so my calves were already hurting pretty good by time we fought on Saturday.

My calf didnt feel good till after Pennsic that year.

maxntropy · Post by **maxntropy** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:59 am

Leo Medii wrote:
To our left, a household of elegant fighters in 14th century gear hold the HM the King of Lochac at bay.

You should have come and said Hi!

Leo:

He was with me... and *I* was surely trying!! Got durned close, too! :cry:

Max VH

Leo Medii · Post by **Leo Medii** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:46 am

maxntropy wrote:
Leo Medii wrote:
To our left, a household of elegant fighters in 14th century gear hold the HM the King of Lochac at bay.

You should have come and said Hi!

Leo:

He was with me... and *I* was surely trying!! Got durned close, too!

Max VH

Yep...I should send you a pic of my right gauntlet! You blew the rivets off the wrist plate on that one shot! Didn't notice it until we got home and I repacked my armor for the IJA joust the next weekend! I told you it was a dang hard shot!

That Woods battle was the best one ever. I had so much fun fighting you guys.