Week of 2007-02-24 17:00 to 2007-03-03 16:59

Via Serious Eats, there’s a thread started over on Chowhound asking for ‘Local Food’ Restaurants in L.A.?.

So, I’m one of those post “The Omnivore’s Dillema” people who got all excited about eating local food and ethical meat and all that, but I haven’t been able to find a good resource to help find “local food” restaurants here locally in L.A. Anyone have any favorites?

One of the several sports called “football” — the one also known as “soccer” — coalesced from historical versions in 1863 in England as The Football Association. Soon enough, this provided the sport its designation as Association Football.

According to Wikipedia,

The word soccer is a colloquial abbreviation of association (from assoc.) and first appeared in the 1880s. The word is sometimes credited to Charles Wreford Brown, an Oxford student said to have been fond of shortened forms such as brekkers for breakfast and rugger for rugby football.

That last linked article on the various names of football around the world really illustrates the global nature of the game. Along the same lines is a website I came across recently — The Global Game: World Football, Women’s Football, Media, Culture. Much like baseball and “gridiron” football in the United States, football/soccer has cultural, political, and economic symbolism and implications worldwide.

One of the things I’ve been doing to keep my brain working during my recovery this last month has been to read up on soccer, which is a Big Subject. I’ve only scratched the surface, but there is a lot to enjoy already, figuring out the various leagues and levels of leagues, regional cups, annual competitions, club and nation world cups, and much more. I may be writing more on the topic round here, particularly as the various tourneys heat up, not to mention the MLS season upcoming.

Welcome to March. The recovery begins.

My first physical therapy appointment went well this morning, relatively uneventful. It was with a different guy than last time (although he was there with other folks) — an older guy with a cool vibe.

After getting the story, he tested my grip strength (there is a pronounced deficit on the right), then had me go through range-of-motion tests with the shoulder. I was more flexible than I realized. ;) Not too much pain on most of it, more of an ache, except for a painful burning section on the outside of the shoulder muscle. Brought to attention how much weaker everything has gotten in a month.

Next was some gentle electric stimulation, which brings blood to the area and promotes healing, along with some moist heat in the form of a warm towel held over the top.

A laser was next, which didn’t really have any noticeable effect, but stimulates molecules in deep locations, again to promote healing. Any time lasers are involved, I am reminded of how cool it is to live in the Far Future where such Science Fiction devices are commonplace. :)

Lastly, he demonstrated a couple of exercises for me to start off with. First is a simple three-lb weight doing a bicep curl that twists into an overhand lift, then reversed, working on strength and range of motion. Three sets of 10 reps to start with, a couple of times a day.

The other exercise works on fast-twitch and coordination, which is a three-lb, squishy therapy ball that you toss between your hands, swinging behind, then in front, round and round and repeated for a few minutes.

Moist heat before starting exercise, then cold afterwards. Next appointment is next week, and I’ll do Tuesdays and Thursdays for now.

I’m jazzed to be on the path, even while being a bit daunted about how much further I have to go. Especially how far to go before I can get back on the bike or on the hills. For now, long walks will have to do. Maybe the recumbent machine at the gym would be feasible?

Had a brief appointment at the orthopedics specialist — he reiterated what my doctor said, no lifting for the time being, keeping the sling on for a few more days to keep myself from inadvertently reaching out too fast (and also as a visual cue for other people to be careful, which I thought was smart). He also said I have good range of motion considering, so he isn’t too worried about recovery.

There’s a portion of my outside shoulder that has been numb, but he expects that was a nerve that got damaged and will eventually heal. He told me to stay off my bike until I don’t have what is called “rest pain” — where it hurts when you’re just hanging out. So it’s four wheels or no wheels until then. :)

Tomorrow morning is my appointment with the physical therapist. I have been crazily looking forward to that so I can get this process going. I should know in about 2 months whether that’s going to do it for me or if I’ll require surgery.

Well, I managed to get in at the doctor’s this morning, which is awesome. Here’s the latest:

Things are going well enough to get a referral to a physical therapist (yay!), the same sports therapist that helped me when I threw out my back a couple of years ago. He’s a cyclist too (with great stories about how his achilles tendon snapped going up hill one time) and a nice guy, so he’ll be perfect.

However, due to the sensation of the arm feeling “loose” in the socket, as if it might fall out, my doc wants me to go ahead and get in to see that orthopedic specialist as well — if the therapy doesn’t fix everything in the next 1-3 months, the ortho will already be in the loop, thus expediting potential procedures later (like surgery).

She said I can get back to work later this week part time, then full time next week if all is well. She also said I could dump the sling if I wanted to, but that it would be useful to keep me from accidentally screwing up my shoulder by involuntarily putting my arm out if I stumble, or grabbing a falling object, or lifting stuff. That would be bad, so I’ll keep it on for now.

Also, it was in the back of ribs 10 and 11 on the right-hand side that I fractured — there’s not much to do with those except let them heel. Sucks to sneeze or cough, I can tell you. :)

Oh, and my blood pressure is 113/73, so I’ve got that going for me. ;)

More news as it happens!