Hockey Injuries...

I was late to hockey last night. I was down in Irvine for some meetings, and fully expected to miss Monday night hockey, esp with the flight departing OC at 5:10pm and my game starting at 7:00pm in Redwood City! Once the plane landed, I decided some hockey/exercise was better than none, and managed to get out at the start of the 2nd period. First shift out, I grab the puck and score - literally within the first 10 steps on the ice. What a great shift! I was pretty psyched. Hockey is a great game - it's not like workouts like running or swimming or working out on the treadmill - where your mind can still be on work or wandering. Hockey literally transports a person back in time - to when one was a carefree kid and their sole job was to put this puck in that net...

Oh well - somewhere during the second period I end up going into the boards to get the puck, and stepped on someone's stick - sending my feet flying out from under me. I land, hard, on my tailbone (owie!) throwing my right arm out to break the fall. Fortunately there's a whistle to stop play, and I limp back to the boards. We end up losing the game 3-2. :(

Today I wake up and I discover that anything I do that requires raising my arm above my head - e.g. washing my hair, putting my shirt on, etc - results in major pain in my right shoulder. I deal with it, and go into work. Later the pain starts to get worse, and I think it might be a good idea to check with the doctors just in case its a broken collarbone or something serious. I take off after lunch, and head over to the local urgent care facility. The doctor makes me do a couple tests, and explains he thinks I have a torn rotator cuff. He sends me off for x-rays just to be sure, and later prescribes some prescription strength ibuprofen, ice, and some exercises to maintain mobility in the joint. He said it should heal itself within 2-3 weeks, as he didn't think it was a full depth tear in the muscle. If it doesn't heal, surgery might be the next option. Ugh. The only way to know for sure is to get an MRI done.

I might still get this done anyway - I want to know the extent of the damage. My tailbone is still sore too. Guess I'll have to take it easy at hockey on Thursday... :)

Speaking of doctors, medicine today seems awfully impersonal. Last time I went to see my regular physician, she couldn't tell anything about me because their computers were down. Doesn't that strike you as odd? Seems like medicine has truly become a business. The ER/urgent care doc today I can exclude from this - after all, it's his job to take on the crises. But for my regular physician whom I see at least once a year - you'd think they'd get to know you as more than a case file on a computer. Sheesh.

PS: to top off a bad week - I lost my fantasy football matchup this week. Grr...