Mystery Bruise Unmystified!

Do not try to diagnose the aliment that I outline below -- the answer is in the essay.

For many years I have had a sore spot on my left hip. It only bothers me when I initially snuggle into bed at night, facing my dear husband -- and then only a little. I did wonder about it but, by the time morning rolls around, I forget about it. Periodically, it disappears but I never made the connection between when it disappears and what I am doing in my life at the time. If anything, I associate the lack of soreness with an increase in exercise.

A few weeks ago I suddenly had an "ah ha!" moment and realized why I have that perpetual sore spot. The moment came as I was at work, pushing open a particularly sticky door. With my hip. D'oh!

Yes, all these years I have been using my left hip to assist in opening the sticky, and non-sticky doors at work. And my sore spot? It corresponds directly to the part of my hip that I use to open the door. I repeat -- D'oh! Now, I don't just use my hip to help open the door, I do a quick hip swivel to provide lots of force. Remember your physics? Newton's third law? "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." So, if you whup a door with your hip, repeatedly, you will bruise. Especially if you have very little padding on your hip.

Will this stop me? Nah. But is does explain why the spot gets better over the summer!

And those sticky doors? They are becoming fewer in number as Dept. of Ed carpenters quickly replace all of our outside doors. I barreled into a new one yesterday and nearly fell as it opened smoothly and easily. Oops!

Sometimes, I am just a bit slow on the uptake.