Old Injuries, New Tricks - Anger Roo
The Derbyverse is full of helpful ‘back-to-skate’ stories from people who’ve suffered horrific injuries during their skate career, but it’s pretty rare to hear about those who have come to Derby in an already problematic state. That’s not to say that loads of skaters don’t have stuff they’re constantly dealing with, but let me explain my personal predicament…
In my other sporting ‘career’ (Cheer-Stunt, where I’m a base who throws people around) through multiple mishaps and some fairly serious bashes (I have now been on a spinal-board in a&e three times) and a LOT of physiotherapy and meetings with Surgeons over the years, I now have a proper name for what’s wrong with my back. I won’t go into the full medical history of it but basically I have a bit missing from one of my vertebrae which means it is stepped out of alignment with the one below and above it. This means that often nerves get trapped and I get serious pain, but pretty much live with moderate pain all the time too. It also means I have limited range of motion on one side, which isn’t exactly great for skating.
When I decided to take up Roller Derby (on top of Cheer, I haven’t stopped that!) I knew I would face some difficulties down the line, but wasn’t really prepared for what that actually meant. My intake day was good, I went all out in the off-skates warm up as I’m used to pushing a warm-up and making the girls I coach at cheer go all out too, but when I got onto the skates – I was awful. I know every roller girl out there can tell you tales of their first time on skates being scary but this wasn’t just a learning thing, this was about balance. The point where my back is damaged is low in the lumbar spine and just about the exact place where your balance/centre of gravity is, and I shook all over just trying to re-set and stay on my feet.
Over time as my confidence grew I wanted to try bigger and better things, but my back injury keeps the speed of my progress lagging far behind where I’d like to be. When learning to do stops, especially plow/plough stops – I could do the movement but the power just wasn’t there and I’d dribble to a disappointing stop rather than the cool squealing-wheel stops the others could do. When doing laps I could tear through the first 3 minutes feeling absolutely brilliant and proudly doing my crossovers, but minutes 4 – 5, as my other muscles got tired, my back would twinge, my balance would completely fail and I’d be crying with pain around the track. When learning to block I’d tire out quickly and then start using my back to throw hits, and had to sit out of stuff repeatedly. There’s nothing like sitting at the side of a hall, fully kitted up, watching everyone else have fun and progress, to make you feel utterly useless.
So I decided to do something about it. Fast forward a couple of months and I have a great PT who is also a Derby player, so she knows what I’m trying to achieve, and I’m building strength in the muscles I need to take the pressure off my back. I train twice a week at the gym, where we do isolated movements (including squats, lateral movement and stuff that will stretch all those muscles that I’ve tightened up in the wrong places over the years, coping with my injury) and then I skate twice a week with RDL. My team-mates don’t push me to do too much and understand that I need to take a break sometimes, they even come up with creative ways of helping me learn things and get around my problems. I wouldn’t have had the strength of resolve to carry on with the times I feel awful if it wasn’t for their encouragement and help.
I can now skate longer, harder and safer, but most of all, more confidently. I know there will be more times where I have to sit out and watch jealously from the benches, I know I will be frustrated when I take longer to get something than the others, and I know that there will be times I just feel completely useless. BUT, now I know what it feels like to take a stand, to improve myself and to achieve against all odds, and that is something I will never take for granted.
So to all those dealing with injuries in Derby, in sport, or just in life – don’t get upset and give up, choose action not reaction, and take charge of your body.
