Sticking at it

Another sunny Robin image for today. It stayed in the 'Red Robin' Photinia for about an hour, preening and basking in the sunshine - looked the picture of Spring contentment.

Last week's bike work and the strenuous step-ups has followed me all week, unfortunately. I forget that if I push harder on one day, it has a knock-on effect on everything else that week and I risk needing to take time out to rest. The RHS groin/front of hip pain/tendonitis continues to bug me and in spite of almost daily icing the area, it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those injuries/pains which I just have to live with until one day it settles.

I really enjoyed the pool work this week. The water was warmer which helped everything to relax and function so much better. My frozen left shoulder was having one of its days when it's less restricted and painful and I was pleased to manage the full shoulder exercises without too much pain. At the end, I did about 3 lengths of gentle breaststroke which were essentially pain-free and felt great. My arms and, in particular, my teres minor and major, were absolutely drained by the exertion but I was pleased with what I managed. Teres min/maj have been stinging and referring pain all week down my arms/through my shoulders but I don't think its anything serious - just used muscles complaining.

The bike work today felt good. My arms and shoulders are now getting to the point where they are strong enough to support me during the 25 mins without screaming with agony or aching for the rest of the day afterwards. I guess my Tricep muscles were extremely weak. I upped the resistance from point 2 to 3 between 10-22 mins, without too much difficulty. There were a few twinges through the RHS groin/front of hip but nothing show stopping.

Notably, the LHS mid/lower back tightness/pain has been minimal this afternoon. It's only just noticeable, which is a big improvement. I've stayed away from the step-ups today to give my right hip a chance to settle.

Bit tired this afternoon. May have a snooze later.....

More of the same

'My' garden Robin, in the glorious Spring sunshine, with the yellow Kerria in the foreground.

....yup, it's mostly been a case of just plugging away with things this week. The LHS mid/lower back tightness/pain hasn't flared up too much but the RHS thigh/hip/groin tightness/pain has been quite bad again. Not sure of the exact cause but perhaps there's some tendonitis in there somewhere as this is a problem which has been around from the start really, waxing and waning.

There was no table tennis this week so I made up the time with more walking. The fact that I've had to go back and forth to the opticians all week, trying to sort out my new prescription, made the extra exercise quite easy! Man, I hate it when new glasses don't work out first time. I got thoroughly stressed by it all. Anyways, I'm waiting to talk to the optician again this Tuesday to sort out what's wrong.

Stuck to the routine in the pool on Wednesday and also managed 4 or 5 (can't remember for sure) lengths of very gentle breaststroke. My arms/shoulders are coping ok (painful/achy but not unbearable afterwards). The left shoulder bursa/infraspinatus tendon pain does get aggravated but, as usual, I reckon I have to find the balance between pushing things forward and avoiding injury.

The bike work felt ok today (not as tired as last week) and I followed it up with 20 reps of step-ups with 1lb ankle weights and 10 reps with 2.5lb ankle weights. I've not needed to sleep this afternoon but I do feel tired.

Note added 20:20: Generally feeling pleased with how my body has coped with rehab this weekend. I haven't needed to doze/sleep in the afternoons. I know I pushed hard on the step-ups this afternoon - both hip stabilisers and glutes are achy and sore, the backs of my knees (hamstrings) are sore/twingey and my lower back is a little strained/painful. I've iced the worst areas and a hot bath tonight should help.

Little by little

The last of my sunbathing Wren shots.

I'm continuing to notice subtle but significant improvements in my strength and stamina. Little things, like it's not so painful/difficult to carry a shopping basket in the supermarket or the absence of left shoulder/arm pain when washing up. Most noticeable this week has been the reduction in LHS mid/lower back pain. I think I had at least 5 days in a row where the usual tightness and pain was essentially undetectable. My Saturday morning walk yesterday aggravated the area again but generally, I think the tissues/structures are improving. Up until this week, I think I could have counted on one hand the number of days without back pain in the last 2-3 years.

I was concerned about table tennis this week - I just didn't want to injure my back again. Anyways, my strategy of continually monitoring/engaging my core, bending at the knees to pick up the balls and not overstretching to reach shots seemed to pay off and, although my back was very tired at the end of the evening, there was no lasting strain.

I woke up Wednesday morning with a mild strain to the top of my right thigh so took that into consideration during my hydrotherapy session. My left shoulder is less painful although still very restricted but, over the last few months, I've been testing out and building up to swimming using very gentle breaststroke. This week I thoroughly enjoyed being able to swim 3 lengths (it's only a dinky pool, 25 metres) of very cautious, gentle breaststroke. My arms and shoulders were exhausted by it but it's a start! It felt great. If I can swim, there's a real chance for improving my upper body strength.

An indication this week of the adaptations of muscles came in the guise of my biennial eye test. My last test was done Oct 2007, just as I was starting my iron treatment. It took 2 years to rectify my iron levels and, as is obvious, that improvement has effected my whole body. Tests this week showed that the muscles in my weak right eye have improved significantly, by 2 steps (meaning that I can now focus and read the lines of size-decreasing letters two rows lower than I could previously). I suspect the cause is a combination of better physical health and the use of my spotting scope for birding watching (which I always look through with my right eye). Anyways, my optician was surprised and pleased for me - both eye muscles are now equally strong.

I did my 25 mins on the exercise bike this morning but my legs felt tired from the outset. That didn't stop me upping the resistance (yes, with hindsight, I see the flaw in this cunning plan...!) from 2 to 3 (on a scale between 1 and 8) for 8 minutes between the 5th and 13th minute. My legs complained and I felt the energy drain from me rapidly! Needless to say I'm feeling wiped out this afternoon and may head to bed once I've finished this.

Note added 18:10: ....yup, went to sleep/snoozed in the quiet on the sofa for an hour this afternoon. I was overwhelmed with tiredness. I guess the reason why the cycling is so much more exhausting than, say, walking, is the recruitment of less frequently used muscles and nerve networks. Looking forward to bed tonight!

A Few Days Rest

This is one of a pair of Robins who consider my garden their territory. I'd gone out to refill the feeders and this little fella came to warn me off. It perched on the fence less then 2 metres from me and watched. I popped back inside to grab the camera and it allowed me to take a few snaps before putting a bit more distance between us.

I'd been looking forward to Easter as an opportunity to take a break from rehab for a few days and it didn't disappoint.

The increase in pain a few weeks ago has essentially reverted back to where it was before I had the cold. It seems I really do have to keep my body moving.

Last week was pretty difficult mentally. Trying to calm down the issues raised in therapy was almost impossible. I wrote the following on 29/3/2010: when it's like this it's like all these gates have been opened in my head and my thoughts are pulled down streams which should be blocked off or resolved or not even there. Suddenly there are all these awful, dark, obsessive trains of thought that my mind gets trapped in and finding a way out is like trying to escape a maze. Which ever way I turn I end up back in the same place. dark, twisted, dreadful. you don't feel safe. the world doesn't feel safe. nothing feels safe or comprehensible.

....anyways.....time has gone on and getting away at Easter helped to get back into 'the present' (rather than trapped in past terror).

I stayed longer at table tennis last week but managed to strain my lower back. That's taken a good 6 days to stop hurting.

Whilst away, I had an appointment with a personal trainer who also offers massage therapy. I'd arranged too to have her talk through her WaterRower (http://www.waterrower.com/en/how_it_works.htm) with me and allow me to try it out. She's extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and we talked through the benefits of rowing for conditioning and strengthening. Basically, I need something that's going to help me focus on my upper body, which I realise is going to take years to recondition. Rowing seems like the gentlest solution and the WaterRower in particular will work perfectly with my limitations - it's self-regulating and smooth. It is expensive but I think it's worth the investment, especially as I am looking at years rather than months. I was very pleased to discover that I could use the rower without difficulty (my frozen shoulder had enough range of motion and my back/hips were flexible enough).

Anyways...the massage was wonderful. She identified that my left iliotibial band (ITB) was very tight/short/knotted, there was a knot in the top of my hamstring, there was a knot in my right subscapularis/rhomboid/trapezius complex, tightness in terres major and minor, and a knot in the left lower trapezius/latissmus complex. It took a day or two for everything to heal!

Home now and taking it easy today. I want my back to be ok for tomorrow's table tennis.