Other Pains -- 12/5/00 Because of the immobility of the cast, the injury itself is virtually pain-free. The only real discomfort around the foot is an occasional itch. Even then, flushing the waterproof cast with water during bath-time can alleviate this. However, there are other aches and pains that I didn't really expect that are far more problematic. For instance, the palms of my hands immediately got bruised from the pressures of bearing my full weight on them. It got to the point where I had to pause regularly when doing my Christmas shopping. Also, my knee on the injured leg really has taken some gas, being contorted in all kinds of angles just to sit or lie down. And the constant swinging of my dead-weight pendulum leg has tweaked out my knee to the point of regular discomfort. My other leg has of course, gotten a tremendous workout. Many times, I've found it easier to bound around like a bunny rabbit without the awkwardness of the crutches. However, even with the strengthened leg, there's an eventual fatigue factor that burns me out to the point where I have to sometimes just crumple down and rest. However, the worst pain that I'm currently experiencing is a possible muscle tear just under my left armpit. I've been wrongly bearing weight under my arms, versus correctly using only my hands to support myself. After an especially long session standing upright (probably shopping again), I inadvertently twisted my upper body and pulled something big time. The recovery has been slow, but it seems to be abating a bit. The scariest pain that I've recently encountered was a twinge of tightness in the injured calf. It was the exact same sensation (but to a lesser degree) I had when I injured myself--felt like a slight cramp in my leg. The pain itself was insignificant, but the worry about whether I reinjured it was big-time scary. The new cast has been getting a bit loose, probably due to muscle atrophy. This has allowed for some leg motion and the ability to contract the muscle a bit. Reinjury before even getting out of the cast is not an option.