Sabotage of the (Physical) Self

I hurt myself today.

This in itself isn't anything remarkable. In fact, a day that I don't injure myself is a surprise to everyone I know. Grace, obviously, is not one of my higher attributes, having about as much physical finesse as a hippo in a tutu. I'm possibly only a little less accident-prone than Bella from the Twilight series (which I've just finished with a great deal of that satisfied sorrow that accompanies the end of great sagas).

Anyway, I was walking down the street today with my dog on a pretty well-packed stretch of grass alongside a house, when oomph, my foot hit a soft spot just off the path and down I went with a mushy crunch. I sat there flat on my ass for a little bit waiting for the throbbing pain to slowly ebb down to a more tolerable level so I could get back up, and was amused (slightly) by the fact that, of course, I fell on the ankle that still wasn't fully recovered from the fall, twist, crunch of my most recent attempt at "shooting [a] hoop[s]." Which was really pretty pathetic, being as not only did I have to walk with a limp for the week I was on the cruise ship, but also in that I didn't even make the basket. ... By a pretty long shot.

The revelation was essentially that, although people are more coordinated on one side, they usually injure themselves on one side. Ironically, on the side that's either a) already damaged or hurt or b) the side that they are technically more coordinated on.

Case in point: I am a righty. Yet, every bone in my body that's been broken (femur, ribs) or sprained (wrist, ankle) is on the right side of my body.

You would think, in terms of evolution and all, that the body would automatically go to protect that stronger side for the good of the whole, and the weaker side be damned. The weaker side of your body obviously can't be more valuable than that stronger side. So then why is it that the side that is better suited for survival is sacrificed? Is it because your body subconsciously gives it enough credit to think that since it IS stronger that it can handle whatever abuse you may inflict on it?

One would also assume, in keeping within the lines of self-preservation, that your body and mind would want to take extra good care of any body part that is already injured. That your brain would keep that injury fresh in your awareness so that you would make a conscious effort to avoid aggravating it even more. But that seems not to be the case!

I've found that when you're nursing a cut or a sprain, you pay so much attention to it that even though you're trying to take care of it, you end up focusing on whatever further hurt you may do it. Essentially, if you focus more on how much something hurts or having to avoid touching something, when you do, it's that much more obvious and you notice it more. Meanwhile, if you don't, as in the case of my ankle, you forget that any extra cautionary measures need to be taken and you further hurt yourself.

Even so, that doesn't explain why, when you bite yourself, you continue to bite the same spot in your mouth. Shouldn't your mouth want to be more careful so you can continue eating with the same exuberance that caused you to bite your mouth? It's hard to believe that the swelling is such that it becomes unavoidable, but every time I bite myself, it gets infected, and I do it again and again in a never-ending cycle. (Well, never-ending to me. A gluttonous foodie, just a week of eating cautiously seems like an eternity of sacrifice.)

The point is, it's ironic how the body and mind work together, or even sabotage one another if you choose to take that perspective. I just find it interesting that this isn't just a Su-Jit-being-clumsy thing, but that it's actually pretty universal: people always hurt the same side of their bodies and continue to hurt that same area over and over again ... intriguing how that goes so against the rules of self-preservation and survival of the fittest.