Splinter Hemorrhage

I had a good quick session, proving to myself that I can indeed accomplish a fairly inclusive workout in roughly an hour. Of course, that meant I completely skipped moving any weights other than my own body, i.e., pushups and pull-ups and core. And I'm so used to punching in 33 minutes for time on the elliptical (for HIIT cardio) that it becomes automatic, even when I meant 30 minutes just to do Fitness Program 2.

I still did the 5-minute cooldown that follows, but I didn't actually slow my pace very much for that. However, my pulse rate dropped dramatically, which I wasn't expecting. I was still red-faced and sweaty when I left to shower and change.

The dermatologist looked at my toe under a special lens and said he thought it looked more like splinter hemorrhages, which are due to trauma, like kickboxing. I told him that I initially thought that but it's been several weeks and I still have that dark line. He said that toenails grow so slowly that it takes months for an injury to grow out and he suspected that those dark areas were microscopic blood clots under the nail. He brought up images of splinter hemorrhages on his laptop to show me how similar they looked to toenail melanoma. He's seen the real thing in real patients and his gut instinct was telling him that this wasn't it. (I'm soooo relieved. There's a Scout white water rafting trip at the end of this month that I plan to attend with my family!)

Splinter hemorrhage

I do have a follow-up appointment in two months to make sure that the dark lines and spots have actually moved on. Because, unfortunately, if it is subungual melanoma, a plastic surgeon must perform the biopsy by removing the nail itself and peeling back the skin at the cuticle to sample cells from both the nail bed and the matrix where the nail germinates from. The nail itself will grow back albeit usually with a notch or crease in it (as per my doc), but it's still quite an ordeal.

Trauma from kickboxing isn't the only way to inflict this type of damage. Apparently, heart infections, nail fungus, skin afflictions like psoriasis, organ diseases that affect the circulatory system, even Raynaud's disease or chemotherapy can cause these microscopic blood clots. The fact that my nails have become ridged and discolored enhances the brownish black line and spots. Those are factors due to aging and nothing more.

from Healthline.com

I'm so relieved that I'm actually thinking about going to the gym tomorrow to whack the kickboxing machine for a few rounds in celebration.

Hump Day Rush

33 Elliptical + 5cd! Oops!
Program 2
Calories 359
Miles 3.19
HR 157-194 (87, 97)

Cage Stretch
HGPU 22

Push Ups 60
Crunches 30/50
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Quick Stretch