I broke my leg (Tibial and Fibular fractures), which has really deflated me. The prospect of being limited to crutches for the next few months has me concerned how I will spend all this time not being able to move.
This is the first time breaking a bone in my body so its all new territory.
I have my work, guitar and gaming but I will miss out on sports.
Any tips or advice on how to stay sane?
Advice? Hmm... tough to say. I hated not being able to ride during my recovery period, but I didn't really do anything special to cope. But I've always had something of a stoic approach to things (going back to before Stoicism was a fad among the tech bro crowd, mind you). Anyway, though it might sound trite/cliched today, I guess I would recommend reading some of the works of the Stoics and consider their mindset. Or some Zen Buddhist material might also be beneficial to you. I'm not a Buddhist, but I find a lot of value in the Zen mindset at times.
Otherwise, just fill your time reading, listening to music, watching movies, whatever you enjoy, and keep reminding yourself that you will be back to normal before you know it.
I don't claim that i handled it well, nor that i now know how, but i can surely tell you what i did right and what i did wrong.
- Stay self-vigilant, especially on things related to your psyche. Staying bedridden or indoors for a long time will surely affect your hormone levels and mood. Remind yourself of this on your first tantrum. - Start physical therapy AS SOON AS your doctor clears you to. Best choice i made. I know people whose joints are "limited" in movement range permanently, just because they skipped physio. Pain is temporary, joint range limitation is permanent. - If you are getting a cast, it is so worth it to buy a "cast cover". This will make taking showers much easier. - STOP SMOKING (If you are). I took it as the usual "stop smoking" that felt like an obligatory advice doctors had to give. Bone healing was basically non-existent for MONTHS. Quit smoking, started seeing remarkable progress nearly immediately. - Ignore your pain. This is what i did best, and has probably contributed A TON to my recovery. I made sure to double check every "kind" of pain with my doc, to make sure nothing was worrying. As soon as the doc told me that it was normal, I started ignoring it. Think of it as background noise. No need to stop it. Just ignore it. Keep pushing yourself to the limit that your doc allows. - Dont ignore too much pain. You may break a bone again. You are not bulletproof now. Even if you have Titanium plates and screws holding your bones together, you can still break them. Just take my word on this one . - If you think bone placement/length/angle/feeling isn't right, dont wait for the bone to heal (cast removed) to check it. Go get a second opinion RN! The last thing you want is to have them break the bone and fixate it again. - If you are going to have non-professional caretakers (friends/family), they need to know that your short temper and frustration is not towards them.
Continue to attend team practices and events if practical as it will keep you connected to your mates.
With approval from your doctor, you might still be able to remain upper body active, but don't over do it and force recovery faster than your body needs.
As a word of encouragement, one of the best players I have ever coached tore her ACL and came back stronger and had her best season 10 months later.
Good luck with your recovery.