So I went to the doctor today...

After weeks of pain in my left elbow, it was getting in the way of my climbing. I went to the campus clinic to see what exactly was wrong.

It didn't take the doctor long to see I had Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow). Between mandolin, climbing, and working the grinding wheel at my job, it is no small surprise to see how I managed to screw up my forearm. But what the doctor said next is why I am really posting here today. It was something along the lines of;

"Your body is not you. Your body is a collection of muscles and bones. Like any machine, it needs to be taken care of, and trained for the right job. It's your responsibility not to be reckless, and to maintain your body for the life you want to live."

Very rarely do I expect such inspiration from doctors. It really harked back to the IP, especially Lesson 2: "The self"

It's nice to see these lessons popping up in the real world, where I can learn through failure and experience.

Take care - Epicondylitis can take forever to heal (took me a year to get rid of mine last time listen to what the doctor tells you

Wow that quote is pretty epic, for a doctor.

That really was an epic quote and unlike anything I've ever heard out of a doctor's mouth. Thank you for sharing it!

I want to pass on something I learned the hard way from my physical therapist. I have lost about thirty pounds over the last year. I have had two rather serious injuries during this time. One was a strain of my tibialis posterior tendon and the other was a strain of my quadriceps muscle where it connects by the knee. Each occurred at different times.

My physical therapist told me if you lose weight, particularly any substantial loss of weight, you lose muscle and also...duh, tone. This makes is much easier to get injured.

Bottom line, stretch, stretch, stretch and make sure you warm up a little before you stretch. If you don't keep your body stretched your more likely to do damage to something and that will put you back on the couch quicker than anything else.

Here is to a speedy recovery! May the Force be with you, friend, during this time.