Stamina is Improving

A proud looking juvenile Starling.

Good news. It seems that the rehab is paying off. Last week I did 'normal life' stuff - visiting family and staying with a friend I'd not spent time with for 6 years. Just 18 months/2 years ago, the thought of all of that would have exhausted me. I didn't have the mental or physical capacities to cope with new environments, travelling, different routines, being in company, being away from home etc etc. And, if I did attempt these 'normal life' things, I'd end up needing at least a week to recover where I'd be absolutely wiped out, feeling as rough as anything and looking like death warmed up. This kind of reaction is normal in severe deconditioning, as described in the article referenced at the start of my blog (Link). It's basically severe exercise (or exertion) intolerance - doing anything that puts stress on the body/system is poorly tolerated.

Anyway, the whole point of this physical rehab is to recondition my body (and mind/nervous system) to tolerate stress (specially physical stress, exercise).....and thus, to not just tolerate being alive, but to thrive. To be able to enjoy (rather than endure!) doing 'normal life' stuff like travelling to visit old friends, going out for day trips, enjoy chatting and walking and, well, life!

Admittedly, my resource and well-being levels weren't even throughout the time away. I had dips and times when I didn't feel so great. But, overall, I was able to tolerate it significantly better than in the past and that's encouraging.

Over the weekend, I've been getting back to the usual rehab routines. The left glute pain/ache is still problematic and my rotator cuff muscles/tendons are achy, especially refering pain through my left elbow. I'm looking forward to getting back in the pool this week. I always feel soothed from being in the water.

Weight loss (!) and Left hip

Another of the garden juveniles - this time one of the collared doves. There's a pair who have spent the week in the garden, sitting together on the fence or on the bench outside the patio doors. They're very confiding and this one let me come outside and take its photo (hence the rather suspicious expression).

In spite of the continuing RHS inner thigh/groin problems, I had a good session on the bike on Sunday. I did the usual 25 minutes but upped the resistance from 2-3 between 10-17 & 20-22 minutes, and upped the pace for 2 mins and 1.5 mins during that time. The other change I've made is to do the bike work at about 3pm rather than 11:30am. The morning session would mean I'd be overwhelmed with tiredness and the need to sleep during the afternoon. However, with the afternoon session, I've had a large lunch and although I do feel tired between about 5 and 6pm, I then have a large meal at 7pm and that revives me.

My left hip/glutes have been bothering me all week. Very achy and twingey when walking. I skipped table tennis on Tuesday so as to be fresh(er) for the pool on Wednesday morning. I pushed myself hard by doing a couple more lengths of swimming after the exercises. It definitely worked my shoulders (in particular my left shoulder, which was the main aim) but it has also probably overworked my left glutes/hip, hence the bad left hip pain/ache which at times radiates down the leg.

The rest of the week has been spent nursing the left glutes/LHS lower back and recovering (I was very tired on Thursday - slept for an hour in the afternoon).

I weighed myself at the beginning on the week, hoping I would have put on a pound or two. To my horror, I'd lost 2 lbs, which is definitely not the aim of the game! I'm a skinny bean and losing 2lbs is 2lbs too much. To be frank, I was pretty gutted (and worried) because I am eating as much as I can possibly stomach/digest and doing all this rehab work but not seeing any results! I did some more reading and research and I guess I need to eat more carbs but just how I manage that is debatable. I have stuffed myself to the point of discomfort all week and not enjoyed or looked forward to eating. It's felt like a chore to force another meal down into my stomach. But, having weighed myself this morning, I've put back on the 2lbs, thankfully. Maybe I just have to face the fact that I need to endure the nausea and discomfort and force feed myself for a while to put on this muscle weight. It is very frustrating though.

I'm off to visit family and then an old Uni friend over the next few days. It's another chance to allow my body to rest/recover and build muscle (yes, I live in hope!!).

Heat and Ice

One of the many little juvenile Blue Tits that are 'stretching their wings' in and around my garden. This little chap landed on the rose bush just outside the kitchen window, giving me a rare photo opportunity.

It's a scorcher again today, 27+ degs outside. But, as ever, I shall be taking my hot water bottle to bed with me....

I thought I'd write a bit about my routines for controlling and easing muscle, joint and nerve pain. Basically, I try to avoid painkillers unless it gets unbearable. After years of being doped up on all sorts of horrible stuff, I prefer to keep a clear head and listen to my body, even if it's complaining. That leaves me with the main options of heat, cold and rest.

One of my routines is that every night I go to bed with my hot water bottle. Initially, whilst I'm reading in bed, I have it stuffed down behind my LHS lower back. The aim here is to ease the chronic tendon/ligament/muscle tightness and/or get a good blood supply to that area to provide any healing/growth needed. Once that's been in place for approx 20 mins, I then put the hot water bottle behind each scapular in turn. This is to ease the pain in the rotator cuff muscles. Once I've finished reading and settle down to sleep, I then alternate the application of heat to the front of both shoulders to promote good blood supply to the vulnerable tendons and bursa through the front of the shoulders and pecs muscles. If one shoulder is particularly painful, I'll keep the heat on it longer. Finally, if my hips/glutes are aching I'll apply the heat there as well before I eventually toss the hot water bottle out of bed and go to sleep. It may sound like a right old palaver but I think it's helped over the last 2 years and, even in this heat, I'll keep it up!

The other thing I do regularly is when I get home from table tennis on Tuesday evening, I immediately apply an ice pack to the right scapular and round the ribs, under the arm. Again, I'm targeting the rotator cuff muscles which are often stinging and fatigued. The aim is to help the soft tissues to eliminate waste products and recover more quickly, so that the arm/shoulder is ok enough for the pool on Wednesday morning. I'll keep the ice pack on for a good 30 mins making sure the whole shoulder structure is treated. I'll do this again once I get back from the pool on Wednesday morning.

Whenever I do my left shoulder physio (3 times a week), I put a heat pack around the joint afterwards for 20 mins. This really helps to ease the joint pain and hopefully promotes a good blood supply to aid healing of the 'frozen' capsule.

Finally, the other thing I do regularly is ice my right groin/inner thigh. It's another chronic problem and, I guess, some kind of tendonitis. When it flares up, I'll ice the area for a good 20 mins, 2 or 3 times a day.

The LHS lower back pain has eased off again this week which I'm extremely please about but I dare not get too excited. Time will tell.

Suddenly very tired so will leave it there.