[pct-l] Recent Injury...Can I still hike?

[Melanie Clarke]

Ask the doctor who saw and treated the injury.  Is it just a surface wound
of the skin and fat pads or did you lacerate any of the connective tissue?
 Cuts on the body with blood flow will heal in a week but hands and feet,
which don't have as much vascular tissue or muscle, heal slowly.  Still the
skin surface still gets enough blood flow to heal in probably 2 weeks if it
just went through the skin, fat pads and nothing serious?  Again, the
doctor will be able to give a good healing timeline.  The internal injuries
of the hands and feet are a lot worse, especially with connective tissue,
again, very little blood flow to facilitate healing.  They take forever to
heal!

On Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 9:28 PM, David Johnson <appleernie at gmail.com> wrote:

> I stepped on a chunk of broken glass yesterday :(
>
> The laceration is only about a half an inch in size and probably a quarter
> inch deep or less. I took a trip to the ER and they cleaned it, pulled the
> rest of glass out (hopefully), and put in four stitches. It's close to the
> center of my foot in an area that gets a lot of contact during a stride so
> I'm using crutches now.
>
> I was originally planning on leaving the 18th but this injury will
> definitely set me back, if not make me have to reconsider the whole trip.
> I'm not in a lot of pain and I still have full sensation and range of
> motion.
>
> I am resting and trying to remain hopeful that I can still  thru hike this
> season. I'm hoping it will be hike-able in two to three weeks.
>
> I'm curious if anyone has had experience with these kind of foot injuries
> prior to leaving or in general?
>
> Also does anyone have any thoughts about what the latest date I could leave
> would be?
>
> Thanks! And remember to take care of your feet BEFORE the trail!
>
> -David
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