The Organic Climber – Vegetarian running, cycling, swimming, rock climbing and raw foods.

About a month ago this weekend, I was hit by a car and walked away without breaking a bone in my body. I was very blessed to have survived the accident, but ever since then I have had a lot of pain in my knees, right hip/thigh, and low back. My chiropractor had me wait to get an MRI because he wanted to see if the swelling would go down and the pain subside, but it didn’t. In fact, it has gotten worse. I often wake up at night with pain in the knees and low back.

This past month has been difficult for a number of reasons. Not only have I missed running, cycling, and climbing, but I missed out on some much needed work the weekend of the accident. Thankfully I will be getting compensated for that though, but it will be at least another six months or longer before I see any of that money. It has been mostly difficult not being able to enjoy the activities that bring me joy. It was been a subtle reminder though, that true joy isn’t found in those things.

Early last week my chiropractor decided it would be a good idea to get an MRI. An appointment was finally set for Monday morning. I was anxious to find out what was wrong. I wanted to know so I could get the green light to become active again and exercise my knees back to good health, but the news I got wasn’t very pleasing. I am thankful though that they found SOMETHING. I would rather know what is wrong than for them to say we couldn’t find anything.

The MRI, showed tearing of the meniscus in both knees, as well as significant swelling. My right knee, the one with the most pain, shows the most swelling and a horizontal tear in the lateral meniscus. The left knee shows a tear in posterior horn of the medial meniscus. All the jargon used in the MRI result made my head spin. I had to look up about 1/4 of the words used in the report in order to have a clear understanding of what was going on, and I still don’t completely get it.

I will be meeting with an Orthopedic Specialist, later this week – hopefully. Until then, I will not know what the next step will be. I am hoping simple physical therapy will be the solution. I am praying that this is not serious enough for surgery, but seeing as how I am walking and stayed on my feet (with much pain) for eight hours straight on Saturday while photographing a wedding, I assume surgery won’t be needed.

The Positive
One positive thing that has come out of this, is that I have been able to invest a lot more time into starting Adventure Naturals. My re-focused energy has allowed me to get a lot accomplished in the last month that will help us get our product launched soon. We are hoping to start producing early next year. I am currently working on information to post on Kickstarter to get the funding we need to startup. This could also be an opportunity for me to start swimming. I have always avoided the sport in fear I would get sucked into the tri, but who knows, maybe that will become a reality after I recover, fully.

My Diet
Coffee is going to have to go! Since starting to eat a high raw food diet over two years ago I gave up coffee for about a year or more, but slowly re-introduced it back in small infrequent amounts. But, since moving to Austin I have spent countless hours in coffee shops working on my business and freelance projects. For some reason, rather than opting for tea like I should, I started drinking coffee again.

Coffee is not good for the body when it needs healing. Coffee is high in refined carbohydrates and stresses the body, thus lowering it’s immune system. It’s also acidic, which doesn’t help with reducing inflammation. I will be focusing on consuming more dark leafy greens to help increase blood flow. Dark leafy greens are high in chlorophyll which helps cleans and oxygenate the blood, which translates to a reduction of fatigue, which will help reduce the inflammation in my knees.

I will also be consuming more alkaline foods to help the reduction of inflammation. Some of those foods are:

• Dark Leafy Greens (highly-alkaline forming)
• Buckwheat
• Quinoa (one of my favorites to use in cooked meals)
• Sweet Potatoes (the only alkaline-forming potato)
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Hemp Seed
• Flax Seed Oil (Great in Smoothies and raw dressings)
• Chia Seeds
• Almonds
• Berries
• Peaches
• Mangos (highly-alkaline forming)
• Green and Rooibos tea (to replace coffee, also highly alkaline-forming)

Foods I will be avoiding, that are acid-forming:

• Coffee
• Cheese (and any dairy)
• Pasta
• Sunflower & Pumpkin Seeds (only slightly acid-forming)
• Artificial Sweeteners

This is in a way a good wake up call to me. Over the past few months I have been “slipping” in the practice of my food philosophy. Obviously, I have allowed more coffee, in addition I have indulged in my fair share of deserts, it’s hard not to when there is a plethora of them sitting in your kitchen for sampling (wedding stuff). So, in a way I’m thankful for the accident in that it has made me more conscious of what I am putting into my body.

I will be sure to make another brief update after I find out the next step is. I hope to get an appointment with the Orthopedic by the end of the week.

Cross Training, Cycling, Health & Fitness, RAW Food, Running, Trip Reports, Uncategorized by OrganicClimber
accident, bicycle, bike, injury, meniscus, MRI, torn
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