Of bikes and bods: follow-up

[shadesofmauve]

Received an email back from the biomechanics guy in Arizona. He says that there are lots of self-styled fitters/biomechanics who don't know what they're doing (which is true; there's someone claiming to do that at every bike shop and REI), doesn't have any suggestions in the northwest, and says "I could fit you in in June if you fly to Tucson."

o_O

Yeah, no.

That kind of expense makes sense for people who're competitive, and maybe once you've exhausted all other options, but it sure as hell doesn't make sense for me.

I probably just need to stop being such an idiot about my boring leg-lift exercises and make time to do them every day. If I can get my knee somewhere up to snuff then the hip stuff should mellow out and then I can start thinking about ways to improve my bike set-up.

There are no magic bullets.

There are lots of leg lifts, the most boring exercise in existence. westrider, when you're down this weekend? You have my permission and request to harass me about doing my stupid exercises.

Bonus note for readers of aStSHB: Yes, I lifted my own most-neglected exercise whole-cloth and put it straight into the fic. Never accuse me of originality. :P It does fit with Joker's disability -- people with OI often have very loose ligaments, and strengthening the muscles around the knee helps make up for a weak ACL. Or, in my case, no ACL at all.

Comments

[baxaronn.livejournal.com]

Willpower is hard. I have the same problem, when pain isn't an issue, and... if you find a magical solution to that, let me know, will you? /: It's hard to work towards getting better when "better" doesn't mean "good", but "slightly less bad but still awful compared to everyone else".

I think I've settled into a place of being able to write Joker without freaking out over getting details wrong; when I throw in medical stuff or PT stuff or pain stuff it's from that common ground, and it's a lot easier than burying myself in research to make everything unique to people with OI. Though I'm sure I'll mess up eventually, especially with more health-focused Joker fic in my immediate future now that I've found that Dr. Michel muse I keep whining about. I just hope someone catches it when I do!

(I think I'm rambling, sorry. I haven't gotten much sleep lately. Tell me if I'm being a pest and I'll shut up.)

[shadesofmauve]

Tell me if I'm being a pest and I'll shut up

Not at all! It's nice to be able to moan about this stuff with people who've experienced it, for sure. And yeah, that magical will power pill... who knows.

That's pretty much the tack I take with medical stuff -- I throw in things that make sense from my experience and gloss over the rest. Since the story isn't just about the OI, that works fine -- enough detail for realism without getting bogged down. The only thing that's difficult is that I've never actually broken a bone (doctors were paid to do it for me) which is a pretty huge OI experience that I'm not about to go looking for. :P

[baxaronn.livejournal.com]

The only thing that's difficult is that I've never actually broken a bone (doctors were paid to do it for me)

I just love that. We didn't have time to break our own bones, we were too important for that. :Db

...though actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if I ever had any bones actually broken, or if they just cut me open to shove the joint around without all that pesky skin and fat and muscle in the way. Hell of a scar either way, though.