Another week

I had to take it easy in the pool today unfortunately. The recurring RHS groin/front of hip strain is back after I did 27 mins on the exercise bike on Sunday. It defies belief that I can strain something whilst exerting so little effort but there we go! My left shoulder is fairly static - no real improvement and I have to be ultra careful not to aggravate it by doing anything that causes pain. My right shoulder is now chronically painful when I lift the arm. I'm hoping that will eventually settle if I take care of it a little.

I've turned down the offer of help from the instructor at the sports centre. My shoulders aren't ready for swimming yet.

One nice thing from today was that I saw a lady at the pool who had the same build as me - everything long and slender. However, she looked strong and obviously had stable, mobile joints and I essentially got to see what I'm aiming for. It's strange how distorted ones perception of what's 'normal' can become when you're surrounded by people with very different body-types to you. I had visions of big, pronounced muscles but, in fact, my body won't ever be capable of developing those. I will always have long, slender muscles, however developed they become. It helped me to realise that being 'tall and skinny' doesn't mean you look weak and feeble (as I witnessed in this lady today - she looked very strong and athletic). It made me feel better about myself - more accepting of my physical make-up. I don't need bulging muscles - I need to focus on getting everything stable and functional.

....speaking of which, I rang the hospital today to see if the physio who had been overseeing my hips/back/core rehab was still around. Unfortunately, she's moved on. I'd hoped she'd be able to give me guidance as to how to progress rehab over the next 6-12 months but I guess that's up to me now.

Realistically, I think I have to keep plugging away with the pool work. If I'm still getting strains from it and still getting tired out from it, then my body has yet to adapt to its demands. I'm still gaining from it. At the end of this month, I'll have done 8 months of hydrotherapy so I may as well aim to complete a full 12 months. That seems like a good sort of place to then reassess progress. It would be great if I could eliminate these recurring strains around my hips/groins.