Happy holidays to you, Waywards reader. In the spirit of festive holiday fun and giving, I put together a special “highlight reel” — the quotation marks are intended to serve a comedic, self-deprecating function here — featuring a compilation of clips I recorded of me shooting hoops yesterday, on December 24, 2022.
The fact I felt good enough to shoot around got me excited. Dealing with a recently-diagnosed autoimmune disease — Ankylosing Spondylitis, per my rheumatologist at Kaiser — known to act on my body in mysterious ways, has made being active in ways I’d like to be difficult or, in some cases, impossible. The autoimmune issue unfortunately contributes to chronic inflammation, stiffness, pain and discomfort on a reliable basis.
I’ve experienced AS-like symptoms for about a decade, give or take, but symptoms became much worse more recently. Medication and other lifestyle adjustments have helped.
But my feet have been swollen and my right heel and Achilles tendon have bothered me quite a bit as of late. Thankfully, in the last few days the pain I had felt on the bottom of the heel, around the plantar fascia insertion point, I reckon, subsided some. The back of the heel and around (as well as below) my right Achilles still hurt if I try to run or jog at a decent clip. That pain, seemingly always ready to become excruciating, should I forget to refrain from using my lower body like an injury-free person, continues to keep me from jumping off my right leg or even pushing off of it explosively. To be frank, I can easily aggravate it just pushing off forcefully, like I’d typically do when shooting a basketball from the free throw line without leaving the ground, for example. This situation may or may not be permanent. I anticipate it enduring for an extended period of time.
So my shoot around and the “highlight reel” of me dribbling, doing some lay-up drills and making a few mid-range and short-distance shots involved me hobbling around the court and doing some semblance of awkward race-walking or slow-speed jogging with the ball without pushing hard off the concrete with either foot. My left foot, not to be outdone by its counterpart on the opposite side, has hindered me with mild-to-moderate discomfort below and around the ankle lately, and it’s historically developed plantar fasciitis (inflammation and soft tissue issues associated with heel and arch pain) off and on.
Nevertheless, none of the aforementioned seemed severe enough that I couldn’t take to an outdoor basketball court — shout out to Nichols Park, here in Riverside — dribble to and fro and put up a few shots.
The multiple NBA games on television today made me think to share my pedestrian efforts from last night that, by comparison, look like a different sport.
Unlike the NBA action, nothing recorded will awe anyone, I assure you Waywards reader. None of the “highlights” will likely impress you either.
Yet, the video does show me having some fun out there, which I was able to do by engaging in an activity I enjoy, albeit with adjustments. Perhaps that will encourage others to do the same as we approach and soon enter a new year.
