Kept up with all the rehab this week. There was no pottery on Friday due to it being half term, which turned out to be a good thing. I've been fighting off a mild cold, the main symptom being a sinus headache and a general feeling of having a 'thick head'. That came on Wednesday evening and is still hanging around. Today, I stuck to doing the 25 minutes on the bike but didn't go as fast as normal (I think I did 6 miles instead of 7+ miles). But, that's it. I've been too scared to do anything else in case it makes me feel really ill. I have so little confidence in my body/mind to respond in a healthy way to things that even a sniffle sends me running for Vitamin C and lots of rest. Admittedly, I feel pretty tired and washed out but I hate days where I seem to just have to wait for time to pass.
At the risk of speaking too soon, I do feel like I'm on the verge of my body actually starting to ramp up its rehab rate. It's been a good 16 months of minutely slow, painful progress but I'm getting glimpses now of my muscles, well my leg/hip/core muscles, being just about ready to cope with greater demands. I might begin to add in a session with ankle weights, doing some step-ups. We'll see.
Hoping I feel better tomorrow....
Sunday 21 February 2010
Sunday 14 February 2010
Pushing Limits
I've found myself trying to push my limits a little more this week. I am constantly on or just beyond what my body/mind can manage with a view to pushing it towards developing and growing. I walk a fine line between feeling utterly exhausted and ill, and feeling drained but knowing that with sleep I'll probably recover enough to function the next day. Anyway...
On Tuesday, I had a really enjoyable evening at table tennis. One of the first team players is recovering from an injury and he took the time to come and do some coaching with the 'social' players. I absolutely loved it. There's nothing like the feeling you get as you concentrate your mind and body to begin to master a stroke. I love the feeling of achievement and empowerment and that sublime freedom that comes when everything clicks into place and the body, mind and apparatus almost effortlessly produce the desired goal. Superb! After so many years of feeling powerless and helpless and trapped physically, it was one of the best feelings in the world.
That was my 6th week at table tennis. Each week I can feel my body has adapted a little more to the demands. Initially, my neck and upper body muscles were very achy and sore afterwards. The forces on my neck as I lent to reach for shots or bent down to pick up the ball etc were pretty significant and it's taking a while for my neck to strengthen up. But, it is getting there and wasn't as bad this week. My right shoulder is also improving gradually. It's a very good thing that the table tennis is an evening event and I can come home and sleep rather than having to endure what would be a day of aches/pains and exhaustion.
On Wednesday, I pushed myself to do 5 more reps on the abdominal exercises in the pool and did more time walking backwards/forwards. In the afternoon, I thought I would try to add something new to my rehab on Wednesdays. I did a 20 minute walk. Mmm....it did feel rather ambitious - I was already tired/sleepy from the morning and I certainly didn't feel like doing anything else! However, I managed it without injury. I was exhausted that evening - barely able to stay awake until bedtime and Thursday was definitely a recovery day (resting in front of the telly). But, I know that I have to keep pushing myself to tolerate more and I think it's the way forward. On Friday, I was tired and short-tempered but coped physically with the early morning pottery class.
Yesterday, I added another 10 minutes to my walk, making it a full hour. Today, I've done the 25 mins on the bike. It's been a tired/sleepy afternoon and I'm looking forward to bed!
On Tuesday, I had a really enjoyable evening at table tennis. One of the first team players is recovering from an injury and he took the time to come and do some coaching with the 'social' players. I absolutely loved it. There's nothing like the feeling you get as you concentrate your mind and body to begin to master a stroke. I love the feeling of achievement and empowerment and that sublime freedom that comes when everything clicks into place and the body, mind and apparatus almost effortlessly produce the desired goal. Superb! After so many years of feeling powerless and helpless and trapped physically, it was one of the best feelings in the world.
That was my 6th week at table tennis. Each week I can feel my body has adapted a little more to the demands. Initially, my neck and upper body muscles were very achy and sore afterwards. The forces on my neck as I lent to reach for shots or bent down to pick up the ball etc were pretty significant and it's taking a while for my neck to strengthen up. But, it is getting there and wasn't as bad this week. My right shoulder is also improving gradually. It's a very good thing that the table tennis is an evening event and I can come home and sleep rather than having to endure what would be a day of aches/pains and exhaustion.
On Wednesday, I pushed myself to do 5 more reps on the abdominal exercises in the pool and did more time walking backwards/forwards. In the afternoon, I thought I would try to add something new to my rehab on Wednesdays. I did a 20 minute walk. Mmm....it did feel rather ambitious - I was already tired/sleepy from the morning and I certainly didn't feel like doing anything else! However, I managed it without injury. I was exhausted that evening - barely able to stay awake until bedtime and Thursday was definitely a recovery day (resting in front of the telly). But, I know that I have to keep pushing myself to tolerate more and I think it's the way forward. On Friday, I was tired and short-tempered but coped physically with the early morning pottery class.
Yesterday, I added another 10 minutes to my walk, making it a full hour. Today, I've done the 25 mins on the bike. It's been a tired/sleepy afternoon and I'm looking forward to bed!
Sunday 7 February 2010
Plodding on....
A similar sort of week as last week. Pushing on with everything. It's been another dull, grey, wet weekend and I've not done much apart from rehab and rest. I'm tired out. Frustrated with the LHS mid/lower back tightness/pain. I think I've narrowed the source of the pain down to the deep, soft tissue structures between the vertebrae. They simply seem to go into spasm with use of my core.....which, I suppose, suggests my core strength is still not good enough to stabilise my spine when walking/cycling etc. By the end of yesterday's 50 min walk, my LHS mid/lower back was really tight/painful. Today, it's not been much better although I was pleased I managed the 25 mins on the bike without too bad a flare up.
My shoulders/arms continue to hurt. Again....feeling impatient with the lack of progress in terms of reduction in pain. I've been rehabbing my shoulders for over a year and I would have thought they would have adapted by now. My body is painfully (lol!) slow to adapt!
Edit: I should add that my left shoulder has improved slightly - the range of pain-free motion is everso slightly bigger and it is getting stronger.
My shoulders/arms continue to hurt. Again....feeling impatient with the lack of progress in terms of reduction in pain. I've been rehabbing my shoulders for over a year and I would have thought they would have adapted by now. My body is painfully (lol!) slow to adapt!
Edit: I should add that my left shoulder has improved slightly - the range of pain-free motion is everso slightly bigger and it is getting stronger.
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