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!