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.

A weekly update

I finally have my PC back - it went in for a DVD/CD-drive repair over a week ago. It has been very strange to be offline and I'm glad to be back in the world of cyberspace. On Sunday, I took a trip to a local nature reserve and finally saw and photographed my first Reed Warbler. I've stood by the reedbeds there many times listening to the screeching and chattering from the pairs of Warblers which breed there. But, over and over again, they've stayed out of sight, in spite of my many attempts to see them. Anyways, I cut a lucky break, and the above bird flew to the trees with a beakful of insects for young (I presume). The picture isn't great but I was pleased to get anything that was vaguely in focus and not just a dot in the distance.

As for the rehab....it was an 'ok' week last week. The extreme tiredness wasn't so pronounced but the RHS inner thigh/front of hip/groin tightness and pain was a lot worse. It seemed to be aggravated by table tennis last Tuesday - lots of lunges for the ball I suppose. Anyway, I've been nursing that quite intensely - regular icepacks to the groin and thigh - but it's still just as bad. As I've said before, I don't think it's an injury as such, more likely some kind of tendonitis.

The other niggles last week were stinging minor strains to my abdominal muscles (again!) and to the pecs muscles. I've essentially taken this week to allow them to heal up. No table tennis and no longer walk yesterday (to rest my groin/thigh problem). I skipped the pool this morning simply because I'm off to visit family again at the end of the week and can't afford to be wiped out. My left glutes/hip are twingey/achy at the moment and my left calf muscle is slightly strained so, all in all, the week's reduced exercise regime is a good thing!

I had a positive session on the bike on Sunday though. I did the usual 25 mins but upped the resistance from point 2 to 3 between 10 and 17 mins and also increased my speed/intensity for 2.5 mins and 1 minute during the time. It felt good to push myself and, as ever, I thoroughly enjoyed the exertion (even if I am paying for it a bit this week!). The other plus point was that last week, the LHS lower back tightness/pain was barely evident. It's flared up again today but I had a run of 7 days when it didn't bother me at all, which is encouraging.

Stress etc

Extremely tired, almost constant 'exhaustion' headache all week and the inability to sleep well beyond 5/5:30am. I guess I'm stressed about various things not least of which was picking up the new car and getting rid of my beloved old one. If I could have kept my old one on the road I would have done but it was beyond economical repair. My brain doesn't cope well with change. Every little aspect of the pros/cons of significant decisions/situations/etc are analysed over and over and over again without any real control of those obsessive thoughts. I quite literally feel like I'm going nuts during those times.

Anyways...hopefully things will calm down a bit over the next week or so.

For now, I'm just absolutely drained but trying to keep up with the rehab schedule. Weirdly, I don't think it's my muscles that are tired out. It's my brain that's struggling to keep up with the nervous system demands of incorporating the different uses of the body. The brain and nervous system are certainly ingenious but I guess I have to remember that my nervous system has kinda been burnt out once already and needs to be 'handled with care'. Pushing myself (my brain) rarely pays off. I have to go at its pace.....slower than slow....

Still Struggling with Tiredness

Another one from the House Martins series of shots. These two were gathering little stones (on the left) and wet mud (on the right) for nest repairs/building. I love having these birds right on my doorstep.

It was good to get away last weekend and, as it turned out, I had a break from the main physical rehab stuff. Whether it was as a consequence or just coincidence, I did have a week of very bad LHS lower back ache/tightness/pain and left hip ache. Nothing would relieve it although lying down and/or applying heat helped. I'm convinced that there's some area of irritation - nerve/muscle/tendon/ligament, which flares up regularly and I seem to just have to sit it out until it calms a bit again. I try not to take painkillers otherwise I'd be on them daily.

Anyways, it felt great to get back to the pool this Wednesday. My muscles were fresher than usual (no table tennis the night before) and I had a session where everything functioned well. For the first time ever, I didn't have left shoulder bursa/infraspinatus tendon pain when doing the 5 lengths of breaststroke (alternating with the 5 lengths on my back using flutter kicks). I came away feeling encouraged and pleased with how my body coped. My breaststroke strokes are still 'gentle' because I'm not sure I've got the shoulder stability yet to exert full force, but it's all progress.

I've been pretty wiped out through the end of this week mainly due to mental stresses rather than physical exertion. Also, my brain still hasn't figured out that sleeping beyond 5:30/6am is preferable! That aspect is definitely wearing me out. I've had the old 'overstimulation' headaches where it feels like my head is about to explode unless I lie down in a darkened room and sleep for an hour, and I've had reduced resources for coping with anything out of the ordinary. One of the 'stresses' is that my beloved, 13 year old Ford Escort has reached the end of its life and I've been frantically searching for a new car. Thankfully, I have now found one and pick it up next Friday but until that feels resolved, my poor little brain cannot stop obsessing about every possible facet of what I should consider in buying a new car.

........tired out.

Hamstring Stretches

Ok, so that little guy isn't stretching his hamstrings....One of numerous speedy House Martins around my house, collecting a beak full of wet mud and little stones for nesting material.

This beauty came into land and I just love its fluffy, feathered legs and feet.

The hamstring strains are still evident but not too bad. I've decided to add hamstring stretches to my almost daily back and hip stretches, done after a walk (i.e. when my muscles are warm). I tried the stretch from this 'yoga for runners' website (Link):

At the moment I can only get my leg up to about 25 degs off the ground so there is a way to go!

I may also try this one out from Runner's World (Link) - maybe when I've progressed a little.

Skipped the pool this morning. I'm off to stay with family tomorrow and don't want to have my usual end of week wipe-out. It'll probably do my body good to have a break from the routine for a few days.

Infuriating Injuries!

Popping in to vent! Ok, I finally had a little bit of energy yesterday and had a short 20 mins walk, followed by some stretching. My target currently is to lengthen my hamstrings. Long story but essentially they're short, rigid and restrictive. Ok, so I followed the stretching instructions on the net (Link) - I did the stretch in figure 2 (see below):

Today, I've got multiple stinging strains at various points along the hamstrings, behind my knees and down my right abductor! Typical! I've been trying to lengthen my hamstrings gently for months now, essentially following the procedure on that website. But they're still short and tight and don't seem to be letting up. Looks like I'll have to miss table tennis tonight as a result of more minor but infuriating injuries.

Ok, the 'long story'. I have finally gotten hold of a second hand WaterRower which arrived last week. Very pleased with it. Nice smooth action. Great bit of kit. But, I hadn't factored in my short hamstrings. As soon as I try rowing, the stress on my lower back is huge. I basically haven't got the flexibility to use the machine yet, which is, well, 'annoying' is an understatement. Anyways, the solution is to get to work on improving the flexibility, particularly lengthening the hamstrings. But, I can see that once again, it's not going to be a simple case of doing stretches for a few weeks. This, as usual, is going to be a one step forwards, three steps back affair until the structures start to respond as they should. Patience, patience, patience.

In the meantime, I have a great rower taunting me, lol.