Friday, March 14, 2008

Theraputic Applications for Frozen Foods

Last month, I started training with the local ladies football GAA team. A friend of ours once described gaelic football as a "makey-uppy game." It has some elements of rugby to it, I guess, a touch of soccer, a little handball, and the same sort of scoring as hurling. I'm just working out with the team for now. Maybe next year I'd be comfortable actually joining them, but for now, it's a good way for me to get in shape for camogie and to meet people.

At training this past Wednesday, I jammed my middle finger during a drill. It smarted for a few seconds and then I forgot about it. I wear protective gloves, which absorb most of the shock of the ball hitting my hands.

About 30 minutes later, we took a quick water break. We'd been running hard, playing a sort of keep-away, so the break and the water were both appreciated. Something inside my glove felt funny, so I pulled it off and saw that my middle finger was bent at the first knuckle. I couldn't straighten it. Although I could curl it up into a fist with minimal pain, when I unclenched my fist and straigtened my fingers, the top of the middle finger hung down like a broken twig.

I showed it to the coach who said "Ah, yeah, I've one of those. You better ice it." Which I did for the rest of practise. The result was the freezing of my whole body as the wind was quite chilly and I was dressed to run around, not stand still with my hand in a bag of ice. I was leery of messing around with it though - I knew Peter would scold me if I played on when I was hurt.

At home, Peter met me outside as I was getting out of the car. (It's so nice to come home and have both Peter and Toby waiting for me.) I brandished my middle finger, telling him "I f***ed up my f*** you finger!"

He made all the appropriate sympathetic statements and then admonished me to ice it. I pulled out my designated ice pack - a bag of frozen peas that I picked up on the way home from camogie last year when I had a touch of tendonitis in my elbow. It's my contention that frozen peas are actually created solely to be used as ice packs. No one likes frozen peas, except for maybe Laurie in her youth.

The next thing I did was to call Nurse Mom at work. She recommended a splint ("Do you have a popsicle stick?"), soaking/icing, Ibuprofen, and gentle exercising. (Not all at once, obviously.) Which is probably what the doctor would tell me, but this way saves me both the trip and the 50 euro for the consultation.

I dispatched Peter to the village shop to get Elastoplast tape and some manner of ice cream on a stick. Since I've given up sweets for Lent, Peter had to be a buddy and eat the ice cream for me. When the ice cream stick was clean, Peter very gently wrapped up my finger.

So, there you have it. Frozen peas and ice cream bars - they're not just for breakfast anymore. My finger feels fine, but it still looks like a bent twig.

10 Comments:

At 14 March 2008 at 19:03, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Frozen peas beat any ice pack hands down IMO

 
At 14 March 2008 at 19:37, Blogger wakeupandsmellthecoffee said...

Yep, good old frozen peas. How's your finger now?

 
At 14 March 2008 at 19:46, Blogger Kim said...

That's strange that it looks terrible but feels fine. If I injure myself, I swear it always hurts like hell no matter how it looks. But then, I suspect you're tougher than I am.

We use rice in a ziploc bag that's kept in the freezer when icing one or another body part. Works nicely. We actually like to eat our frozen sweet peas!

 
At 14 March 2008 at 22:12, Blogger laurie said...

you know, i saw on my statfinder that someone in ireland was searching for "frozen peas" on my blog and i could not for the life of me figure out who or why.

i also used frozen vegetables to ice my head when i banged it on the steering wheel when i ran off the road on my way to hibbing.

i can't honestly remember if they were peas, or something else.

 
At 15 March 2008 at 00:02, Blogger Babaloo said...

Oh gosh, I had to laugh so hard. Sorry you hurt yourself but you telling Peter that you f***** up you f*** you finger just did it for me.
I actually do like frozen peas as well. Well, once they're cooked, obviously.
I got the strawberries in Tesco's in Mahon Point, by the way, on my way back from Thursday night's AI meeting. I know they're out of season and they came from Spain, but hey, it was for a good cause!

 
At 15 March 2008 at 01:54, Blogger Col said...

True story: When my mom was visiting after Nate was born, she cooked dinner and used a bag of peas from the freezer.

When she served them, I (knowing that she had not been out to the supermarket) said, "Where did these peas come from?" She replied, "Your freezer, of course."

Heh. They were my knee-injury peas, probably been in the freezer for over a year. Gross. We threw them out.

 
At 15 March 2008 at 02:59, Blogger Irene said...

You've probably broken it and should have it looked at and have it put properly put into place again.

Frozen peas are the best as an ice bag. I've used that trick for a long time, but I have yet to convince my Dutch counterparts that it is really a good thing.

 
At 15 March 2008 at 05:21, Blogger ped crossing said...

I'm glad I am not alone in eating my frozen peas. It is canned peas that I have an aversion to.

We try not to need ice packs if we can help it. And we have "boo-boo buddies" for when they are needed. Boo-boo buddy: Frozen gel in a kid friendly soft body of some sort.

As the boys get older I am sure we will need lots of ice packs, but I am trying not to think of that just yet.

 
At 15 March 2008 at 17:21, Blogger -Ann said...

RWG - Yep. And there's no dripping watery mess.

WUASTC - Feels fine, but the tip is still bent at about a 45 degree angle.

Kaycie - I didn't cry or nuthin'. :)

Laurie - I had a feeling that would happen but, since the world revolves around me, I thought you'd know it was me. :)

Babaloo - Peter also thought what I said was very funny. I'm not real keen on the Tesco at Mahon Point, but those strawberries did look good. (I'm bad - I'll buy fruit especially out of season, but it has to look really good. And the fruit in the Lidl and the Dunnes just haven't lately. Roll on summer!)

Col - Ewww. That's a great story though.

SI - Nah, it's just a soft-tissue injury. It'll improve in time. Your Dutch counterparts don't know what they're missing.

PC - I'm not really keen on any canned or frozen veg. I love vegetables, but they have to be fresh and raw. Boo-boo buddies sound great. Wish I had one. :)

 
At 16 March 2008 at 02:58, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I use frozen edamame. It conforms to the body quite nicely. Also, I jam my fingers at almost every kickball game, which is painful, but not as bad as when I broke my ankle playing kickball. Also, that's why I stick to swimming.

 

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