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On the morning of December 31, I told my partner I was going out for a short solo walk, just to decompress a bit. The weather was pleasant - not too cold, not raining or snowing, moderately sunny. It was really the nicest day we'd had for a while.

The planned short walk evolved into a longer walk than I'd originally foreseen and I ended up walking from my Fisher Heights neighbourhood up to Hog's Back Falls. The rush of the falls in an otherwise quiet area was somehow calming, a kind of nature therapy akin to forest bathing, as described here:

​​​​​https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/nature-prescription-how-to-get-one-1.7421810?cmp=rss

If I'd merely stood watching and listening to the falls, or sat on a nearby bench in quiet contemplation for a while and then gone back home, all would have been well. But a path leading into the woods beckoned and I decided to wander on for a bit.

I was maybe halfway to being at the bottom of the Heron Road Bridge when I decided to start retracing my steps and head back up towards the Hog's Back Bridge. There was a kind of fork in the path where one part looked to slope fairly gently back upwards. I headed in that direction.

Soon afterwards, I put one tentative foot forward, stumbled a bit and fell. It wasn't a very long fall but it was my upper right arm, between my elbow and shoulder, that bore the brunt of the impact.

I got up, brushed myself off and assessed the situation. I ascertained that I hadn't broken anything. There was no blood. But my arm hurt like hell. It didn't help that just the day before, I had been required to bend that arm into various unnatural contortions while getting a mammogram and ultrasound on my right breast.

My legs were fine, so I proceeded to walk back home, keeping my injured arm in as comfortable position as possible.

Here, from a sports medicine website, is an accurate description of the injury I sustained:


Upper arm contusions

Contusions are also a common cause of upper arm pain. A direct blow to the front, back, or side of the arm crushes muscle against bone and injures it. The biceps muscle at the front or the triceps at the back of the upper arm could be affected. It may also occur in conjunction with an Axillary nerve injury.

Symptoms:

Pain on and after an impact.
Loss of full elbow extension (straightening)
Pain on trying to bend the elbow, especially against resistance).
Tenderness on touch.
Bruising.
Swelling.


And here's the recommended treatment:

Treatment:

Apply ice to reduce bleeding and swelling.
Elevate the arm and use a compression bandage.
Rest from any activities which cause pain.
Try to keep the elbow moving gently.
Once pain-free, gently stretch the biceps muscle to regain full extension.


I didn't use a compression bandage and instead of applying ice, I wrapped my upper arm in a large washcloth or small hand-towel which had been rinsed under the cold tap and wrung out. That eased the pain and helped reduce the swelling, but still allowed me some movement of the arm.

I've been rediscovering my left (non-dominant) hand and doing more things with it and my right hand has been reduced to second-in-command. I don't think I ever realized how many of the small muscles in my upper right arm come into play every day as I perform the day-to-day tasks of living. Like, say, doing just about anything on my laptop - manipulating the cursor, typing, clicking on a link, whatever.

Anyway, I'm recovering. I wouldn't be able to, say, raise my right hand in class to answer a question. I can't really put back my hair in a ponytail. But I can manage, although daily activities are kind of exhausting.

Just as well, since I shudder to think of how horrid it might have been to sit for hours in a hospital emergency department on New Year's Eve!