Last night I played dodgeball for the first time in 7 months. While this statement may not seem like much, there are a few factors to consider. First, my age (42) and I’m playing against people half my age. Second is my general physical condition, which is not athletic. While these factor may skew against me, I’ve been playing a regular Monday night “pickup” game for several years, so I’ve gotten much better than when I started.
So why is it a big deal that I haven’t played in 7 months? Because I injured my finger playing dodgeball June 22 of last year. The pinky finger on my right hand (which I use to throw) got dislocated which is bad enough, but something happened to the ligaments and tendons in the finger that was very much NOT GOOD. Even after 2 months of having the finger back in its proper place (which happened almost immediately, so it wasn’t dislocated long) the finger looked wrong. Still does.
I am still not able to fully extend my pinky finger straight, and only in the last couple of weeks have I been able to make a fist without having it stick out. It’s weird, ad somewhat painful. Still, I’ve been looking forward to getting back to playing dodgeball as soon as my hand would allow.
After taping up my hand sufficiently I took to the court. I won’t say I wasn’t nervous, because I totally was. I’ve gained a little weight due to lack of playing, as well as atrophy of what little skill I have. Thankfully I didn’t completely embarrass myself. I managed to get a couple of people out and got my body moving for a couple of hours. And I had fun doing it.
I’m glad I got back out there to play again, and am looking forward to next Monday’s game. My body is sore, since I haven’t really used many of those muscles in 7 months, but it was worth it. My hand is sore, but that’s going to take some time to get back into shape as well. I don’t know if my pinky finger will ever fully get healed so I’ll just continue to tape it to my ring finger. Even if it does alter the way I throw, with some practice I should be able to continue playing for quite a while.