Broomstick Bedlam!
Halloween was fast approaching and Esmerelda the Witch was far behind in developing her magic spell to be presented at this year’s Witch’s Ball. Every year at Halloween all the witches and warlocks get together and discuss the latest in potions and spells, and this year Esmerelda was presenting the “keynote” spell. Her spell was entitled “From Prince’s to Frogs,” and oddly enough she required cougar warts to complete the spell. However, at this late in the season, cougar warts were impossible to come by.
So Esmerelda was rushing around trying to find four cougar warts to complete her spell in time for the Witch’s Ball. And to make matters worse, her broom was acting up. Whenever she came to a stop and tried to dismount, the broom would shudder and she would stumble a little, often times falling to the ground.
Esmerelda was flying around Salem, desperate in her search for cougar warts, when – at last! – the tiny shack on the corner had a sign in the window that it had cougar warts and not only that, they were on sale! In her rush to get there, Esmerelda swooped in close to the curb and hopped off her broom. But wouldn’t you know it, the broom gave a little hitch just as she dismounted and Esmerelda tumbled to the ground, letting out a little cry. Angry and embarrassed, Esmerelda tried to get up, but realized the pain in her knee was real.
At the same time, the shopkeeper came out of his store to see what all the commotion was about.
“What is going on out here?” Igor said and looked around. He saw Esmerelda lying on the sidewalk and immediately went over to help her. “Oh, I am sorry miss, are you all right?”
“I’m not sure. My stupid broom threw me off and I seem to have hurt my knee,” grimaced Esmerelda.
“Well, let’s get you up into the store and put some cooling eye of newt cream on that,” Igor said as he helped her up.
In the store, Igor rubbed some eye of newt cream on her now red and swollen knee and assessed the damage. “Looks pretty bad – I would suggest you head over to Bragg Creek Physiotherapy to get that thing looked at,” said Igor.
“Oh, but I’ve got to get my spell to get ready for the Witches Ball,” groaned Esmerelda.
“Well the girls over at Bragg Creek Physiotherapy will fix that up for you, no problem,” assured Igor. “I’ll give them a call and see if they can fit you in.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Looks as though you have sprained your medial collateral ligament, Esmerelda,” Lisa told the young witch, after she assessed her knee. “What that means is the ligament on the inside of your knee, the one that provides stability to the knee joint, was stretched and a few of the fibres were torn when you fell off your broom.”
“I didn’t fall, the stupid thing bucked me off,” mumbled Esmerelda. “Am I going to get better by the Witches Ball? How silly would that look – me delivering the keynote spell and barely able to walk up to the stage?”
“Well, it’s going to take a little hard work on both our parts, but I’m confident we can get you well enough to avoid limping. However, you won’t be one hundred per cent by then – remember the body takes time to heal, and we can’t rush that,” explained Lisa. “We will start with helping to decrease the inflammation and pain by using acupuncture. I also want you to do some gentle range of motion exercises over the next few days so your knee doesn’t stiffen up. Then, once that goes down, we will start to strengthen it as well,” continued Lisa.
“All right, but if this doesn’t work, then I’ll be doing a spell on it to get me through the night,” warned Esmerelda.
“Well, don’t rush things. We’ll get you back into action in no time,” assured Lisa.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After a few weeks of rehabilitation at Bragg Creek Physiotherapy, Esmerelda was walking around without any noticeable limp. The acupuncture had taken away the pain and inflammation in just a few treatments. Lisa also moved her knee around a bit, and there was an immediate increase in range of motion. From there, Lisa went on to give Esmerelda some strengthening exercises, which included the stationary bike, the leg press, squats and hamstring curls. She also had Esmerelda standing on one leg with her eyes closed!
“Wow, Lisa, thanks so much! I think I might actually walk better now than before I fell off the broom!” exclaimed Esmerelda.
“Well, we certainly are getting there, but we do need to continue with the strengthening so we prevent future injuries from occurring. Once you damage the ligament, it remains weakened and so we have to strengthen the muscles to help support the loss,” explained Lisa. “But you should be fine for tonight. Just take it easy out on the dance floor after you give your keynote spell,” advised Lisa.
“I was thinking,” said Esmerelda, “maybe I’ll change my spell to The Magic of Physiotherapy…”
Have a happy and safe Halloween!
From all of us at Bragg Creek Physiotherapy
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