Tag Archives: sports injury

A Timely Change

5 Nov

I changed my golf set recently! It was a decision made after mulling over it for months. Prior to this, I felt I couldn’t improve my game anymore especially with the recurring injuries and change wouldn’t help anyway. Why change when playing better golf was also not at the top of my priority anymore?

Factor in my desire to carve and I was at it constantly, golf was no longer my focus. But constant carving came with a price – aggravated pain on the right elbow whenever I did a little bit more than necessary. And when there’s pain, it affects the golf; and if playing good golf was out of the question with the recurring problem, why bother to change? I was at it in circles for months.

But a good deal came along and I caved.

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My new set… here’s to playing better golf!!!

So I gave up my TaylorMade RBZ irons, Maruman Conductor driver and wedge, Cleveland woods, hybrid and wedge for a lighter pre-owned Srixon XXIO MP900 set to replace them. The only thing I kept was my Scotty Cameron Squareback putter. Less clubs in the bag, 10 instead of 14, this made my approach on the game changed too. But for the better. Also the lesser clubs means a lighter load and we’ve been walking nine-holes carrying our golf sets instead of using the golf trolleys the last three weeks. Very good exercise as I find myself sweating buckets each time.

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The old set, thanks for the good times!

It took me a few games to adjust my swing to the new clubs and know the distances. The new driver however, loses to my previous driver’s performance but that is only because I have had the Conductor for years and have been so in-tuned with its ability. It’s just a matter of time before I am able to master the new driver to maximize its performance. After all, every new piece of equipment will require time to get used to them, some just take longer than others. So I’m not worried.

Overall, all the clubs feel good and even with some nagging pain on the right elbow, I am striking the ball better and further. This means I can still carve but with care of course. A win-win situation nonetheless. I love the new 3-wood as it’s giving me the distance I couldn’t get previously.

It didn’t take me long to master the new Sand wedge for my short game though. With just one club to use for the 50 meter (or less) range instead of the three choices I had previously – the Approach, 52˚ or 56˚ wedges, being indecisive on what to use has suddenly been taken out of the situation, making the approach so much easier. And I must say it has been super accurate, cutting down strokes to get on the green and pretty close to the flagstick. A real confidence booster to come back with better scores. I love it!

And this was evident when I played in my Club’s November Monthly Medal bogey-play tournament over the weekend; I came out tops in the Ladies category! Woo hoo…. however due to the low turn out of just six ladies (a minimum of eight participants was required for the winner to receive a trophy), I was an ‘unofficial’ winner without the showpiece. It’s okay, I’ll take it as is and am glad I made this timely change. I just hope it won’t be a one-time wonder and definitely looking forward to playing better golf from here on.

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One Problem Resolved

4 Nov

I’m glad to say that the plantar fasciitis that I was experiencing several months back has disappeared. How did I do it? Well, I certainly didn’t walk any less, in fact, I walk more but with an arch support for the shoes. And this helped.

After the problem disappeared, I bought a new pair of Skechers with good memory foam for better support. Being new and spongy, it’s certainly doing its job so the additional arches are not required anymore, at least for this new pair. But I still use them for my golf shoes. And after a round of 18-holes, the feet are fine without issues.

The old pair of Skechers has been quite worn down, maybe that’s why the insole arch support was necessary when the problem came about. And thank goodness the problem is resolved and not escalated further. I have enough challenges as it is with my endometriosis and the golf elbow that has been acting up.

At the end of the day, it’s all about taking care of ourselves, being at this dinosaur age, you just can’t wing it to get by.

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It’s All About Food, Part 2

17 Sep

Now that the three long weekends are over and done with, it’s back to work. Sigh…

Over the weekend, we took Friday off again, this time to stopover in Ipoh for a round of golf and a full blown three meals of yummy eats prior to driving up North to see hubby’s parents.

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Nasi Lemak breakfast at the Agromall along the Plus highway

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A little hazy but it didn’t stop us at Royal Perak Golf Club

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Felt like a glutton doing Nga Choy Kai with Hor Fun AND Char Siew at Lou Wong after golf

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Amazed at the White Rabbit sizes! Humongous or Large anyone?

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Had to eat Nasi Kandar before reaching the house

Honestly, the weekend was also all about food, and golf too. And yes, the 16/8 diet was put aside as well. There was a variety of local fare we ate this time, mostly spicy but just as enjoyable.

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Caffe Diem in Pekan Cina was very hip with the decor and ambience

 

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Had dinner with an aunty. Cakes were really good

And the two rounds of golf, at Royal Perak Golf Club (on Friday) and Darulaman Golf & Country Club (on Sunday), was equally enjoyable with both games finishing in three and a half hours as we had the courses all to ourselves. Nice. However, the golf elbow flared up this time! Uh oh… I had to Salonpas it to reduce the pain.

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We had the course all to ourselves!

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After the game…

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After game lunch was a Kueh Teow goreng (top) and Pasembur (bottom)

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Dinner was a Fruit Rojak (top), Nasi Ulam (left) and Thai Kueh Chap (right)

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The Apom was nice while the packet of Nasi Lemak was very little but enough

Well, rest should fix the elbow and no more breaks until October. This has been a good break too like Club Med but the same cannot be said for the drive back this time.

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It felt like a Chinese New Year exodus drive. So tiring!

It was an unbelievable eight hours and 15 minutes to reach home! Very unusual for a typical 4.5 hours journey. Then again, when there’s a long three-day weekend, others are bound to take advantage of it as well, just like us.

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New Injuries

5 Aug

Over the weekend, I picked up new injuries because I have been golfing more than ever. It used to be just a game on either Saturday or Sunday only but now, it’s both days. Also the last two weeks, it was three games in a week. So it’s just a matter of time before something like this happened.

Thankfully the left wrist tendonitis did not flare up during those outings and is under control; it’s two ‘new’ injuries that cropped up and are causing a lot of discomfort instead.

Injury #1: plantar fasciitis at the left foot. This problem started out very mild towards the end our stay in the US. And it has ‘grown’ since because I have been walking a lot with golf added to my usual routine. There’s no let up for it to rest and recover totally.

Injury #2: golfer’s elbow on the right arm that previously had tennis elbow but recovered when I stopped golf for some time last year. Now the pain, quite recent and acute has struck the inside area of the elbow instead of outside. The pain was already there when I hit the gym three weeks ago but I brushed it aside. Now I know…Hmm.

It looks like too much golf has taken its toll on me and the body has not been able to cope. Maybe the second injury is easier to solve than the first one because I can stop or reduce playing to rest but to stop walking? I certainly can’t don’t walk, it will be hard, very hard. I have to learn how to manage. Sigh…

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An Epic Fail

2 Aug

I have been playing golf for dinosaur years. And somehow there’s always a first for an unthinkable shot. An epic fail that is…

Tuesday was a public holiday and we took the opportunity to go play golf instead of just staying at home doing the usual carving (me) and gardening (hubby).

Our tee-off at 8.11am was later than our usual weekend 7-ish slot but we didn’t mind, it’s a public holiday and everyone’s playing golf. Anyway, the weather was lovely and the pace good without having to wait too long for every shot.

I must say I am playing much better now because there’s no pain in the wrist, carving less Gnomes these days. So the results are encouraging as each game goes by. But there’s always a first for an unthinkable scenario.

As we headed towards Hole 9, the last hole, I was getting a little tired because it was very hot by then. After all, we teed off late.

I had about 60m to the green. And although the coconut tree on the right wasn’t directly in my path, I thought launching my ball slightly left of the tree was the best approach to land nicely on the green center, close to the pin. So I took a full swing.

The ball flew above the tree but it never landed on the green as envisioned. Instead it landed in the tree! Yes, in the tree 15 feet or thereabouts above ground; my pink Nike golf ball never came out, dropped down or go past the tree. I was in disbelief!

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There, right there amidst the coconuts on the tree lies a pink Nike ball.

The approach space was so wide and yet, I managed to land my ball in the tree. That’s a first for me with such an unbelievable approach shot! An epic fail. Hahahaha…

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G-strings & Granny Undies

27 May

So I went for my massage on Sunday and to my surprise, my consultant at Philip Wain did not schedule my appointment despite telling me she had done so. On top of this, I found out she had left as well. Aiks! Young people these days, they don’t take their job seriously nor is there dedication. She was there only for just two months apparently.

I was mildly irritated thinking it was a wasted trip then for nothing. But the front desk girls were quick to find a replacement, assuring me the masseur was good. Although not the one I had requested (because she was off due to the boo-boo) I had no choice but to try the replacement out or leave without any massage done.

When people recommend something or someone, surely they would sing praises of their suggestion for they can’t say the choice is average, so-so or worse, right?

The petite masseur was all business, giving me a G-string to wear! Geez… all these while, it used to be puffy paper-based one-size-fits-all granny undies or even thongs when I go for full body massages but this time, a paper G-string which barely covered my modesty. Hmm…

I guess it makes sense with this minuscule of an attire because the posterior is exposed and therefore easier to work on without hindrance. Otherwise she would have to give me a wedgie to get to my… erm, cheeks.

Was the masseur good? I’d say average and could be better. She may have worked the kinks in the shoulders well–which were evident during my golf game on Saturday–but she focused too much on that area. So much so, the legs which were more in need of some relief were not attended enough. Put it this way, I did not feel rejuvenated after the treatment. Sigh…

After the session, I decided to schedule another massage, this time with another consultant assigned to me, in two weeks’ time but not sooner unfortunately. Maybe a different masseur might do the job better, and who knows… maybe thongs or the one-size-fits-all granny undies instead of a G-string again. We shall see…

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Fresh Supply

21 May

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I am in wood heaven! Two weeks ago, I received two boxes of freshly cut Meranti wood to continue with my carving. And carving I have been doing.

I realize now that carving Whales do not hurt my left wrist compared to Gnomes. It is the size – Gnomes are smaller than Whales, and how I grip the wood tightly (when carving a Gnome) causing a strain to the wrist. Add in the many angles of a Gnome, that’s why the tender area of the wrist would flare up if pressure and the repetitive action is applied constantly.

I have stopped carving Gnomes and Citizens of Gigglesville for the time being and just focusing on Whales which are much easier to handle. Anyway, the Gnomes and Citizens are decorative, cute and fun but the Whales are more than that, they are useful – being a smart phone holder.

The best part, I can still play golf without pain and the Whale population has been growing steadily. Yay.

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Citizen #182

9 Apr
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Citizen #182 from all angles

After a four and a half months break, 26 Whales, two Monuments and nine Gnomes later, I finally carved a Citizen of Gigglesville. What a long break. I had almost forgotten how to carve a Citizen on balsa, taking a longer time than I normally would with #182, the first one for 2019.

But it looks good, I must say. It was awkward to hold, being so small and the balsa being so soft; I have forgotten what it’s like to control my strength. Despite all these shortcomings, I am pleased because there’s no strain at all on the left gripping hand and I can play golf without any nagging pain.

Maybe I should continue with more Citizens on balsa instead of the others on Meranti to preserve the hand. Reaching 200 population count is not impossible if I keep at this.

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Killer Whales

12 Feb

Actually, carving on Meranti wood is not good for me. While it may be satisfying to channel my energy into it and then feel the joy whenever a lovely piece is completed, the choice of the wood is the culprit that adds to my Wrist Tendonitis woes.

I was carving a lot of Meranti whales in December and they are much bigger pieces than the Gnomes and Citizens, which unfortunately have not increase in their population count. And being bigger pieces, it magnified the Wrist Tendonitis on the left hand because I have been gripping the wood block too tightly, looking back at the situation now. Sigh.

Although I have a vise clamp albeit a mini one, it cannot clamp the block for me to work on. And I have not been using my workbench enough to ease the situation. It is not the repetitive motion that’s causing the flare up because the repetition is on the right hand, the carving hand, and not the left hand – the non-working but gripping hand.

If I am not carving daily, the situation can be contained because with ample rest, nothing gets aggravated and it’s fine. The therapy sessions, which concluded, helped but I must not overdo things that can cause a recurrence. That something obviously being carving, of course. And I guess I overdid it in December. Oops.

Then in January as we were busy preparing for M2 to leave, carving took a backseat. But after M2 left, I was back to carving whales full swing AND playing golf before Chinese New Year, double whammy you could say. I felt a teeny weeny set back. Uh oh.

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The whales, cute as they may be, are really killer whales. And I’d better take care especially if I want to play more golf this year. Perhaps I should go back to balsa instead of Meranti or get a bigger vise clamp if setting up the workbench is too much? Something to seriously consider.

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A Tradition of Sorts

7 Feb

We played two rounds of golf this trip. On Monday, we had our golf game and it’s becoming a tradition of sorts to play golf whenever we are back in hubby’s hometown for the Reunion Dinner.

The obligatory selfie before tee off!

My game is improving but I can also feel the pain in the left wrist upon impact in certain situations. The fairways of this golf course are very hard and dry, so I had to constantly adjust to avoid injuring myself again.

Then after the family obligations for the First Day, we played another round on the Second Day of Chinese New Year. This time, I had an even better score, having played on Monday and understanding the course conditions better. We had the golf course all to ourselves and in four hours, completed our leisurely paced game. Enjoyable morning.

Darulaman Golf Club

The Second Day ended with more family time and food, with lunch at the Aunt’s and dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Burp!

Home-cooked spread! So so good.

We head home today, bracing for a long journey ahead. I hope it won’t be a ten-hours drive. We shall see.

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