Two Swims

10 days since my last update. Made it to the pool last Tuesday and today. Clocked up 40 lengths (1km) last week. I had to stop at that point because my right ankle and inside of my right knee were too painful, especially on breaststroke. I'm guessing it's a biomechanical issue (things just not working in sync and causing pain). I also had right scapular/mid back pain through the afternoon and the next day but it did settle. I had to miss the gym last Friday due to various annoying appointments and needing to get some computer issues resolved. Then, I was back at the pool today and was very pleased to do 50 lengths (1,250m). The right ankle and right inner knee pain weren't as bad today so I am hoping that if I just keep going, it'll resolve on its own.

Energy levels have been very up and down. I think my hormones are all over the place at the moment and it's effecting my sleeping patterns and general aches/pains. Anyway, glad to have got the swim in today.

I'll be missing the gym again on Friday as I'm away visiting family but will hopefully get back there next week.

Back at the Gym after 10 Weeks

The last 10 weeks have been hampered by injuries and niggles and commitments which required my energy. I hadn't had any right abdominal strain symptoms for a while and  the right cricked neck was a lot better although not completely gone. So, with time and space, I was able to get back to the gym yesterday. I tried not to push too hard and was pleased with what I completed:

• 5 mins exercise bike (difficulty level 8)
• Hip/lower back stretches
• Glute bridges (10 secs hold) 3 reps then quad stretches
• Glute bridges 10kg dumbbell across hips 10 reps, 10 sec hold.  
• Single leg glute bridges, 5 sec hold, 10 reps.
• Press ups-plus (at 45 deg angle) 2 x 10 reps. 
• Press-ups on floor (knees on floor) 2 x 10 reps
• Right Hip adduction and extension using cable weights 6kg 2 x 10 reps.
• Seated rows 10 kg 2 x 10 reps; vertical flies 4kg 2 x 10 reps.
• Chest fly with cable weights 4kg 2 x 10 reps.
• Trunk twist using cable weights 5.4kg 2 x 10 reps
• Rope pulsing (new exercise on new gym equipment, holding 2 heavy ropes, laid on the floor, and making them pulse) 3 sets to exhaustion.
• Tricep extensions using cable/rope 6kg 10 reps, 8kg10 reps. 
• Basket ball exercise (throwing a weight ball at a target from squat position) 4kg 3 x 10 reps
• Plank and pull (assuming plank position on hands, then pulling a weight bag from side to side under body) 5 kg, 15 reps.
• Combo lateral/front shoulder raises whilst sitting on exercise ball 3kg 10 reps
• Lying on the floor, starting with elbows by my side, arms bent 90 degs, then pushing weight upwards against gravity, straightening the arm (modified front raise) 5kg 2 x 10 reps 

I felt completely wiped out yesterday afternoon. In fact, I've been extremely tired all week and not sleeping well either. I guess it's mostly due to new things happening in my life and my brain working overtime to process it all. The right crick neck isn't good after yesterday but there's not much I can do about that apart from keep trying to stretch it out. Today, I do feel a bit stiff (in a good way).....and very tired after another poor night's sleep.

I hope to get back to the pool on Tuesday and get back into the routine of Tuesday - pool, Firday - gym. We shall see....

2 Week Update

Progress in terms of rehab has been fairly non-existent. I seem to have run out of motivation for daily physio exercises. I should be following a daily routine for my left shoulder and right hip but, for now, I have come to the end of my tether on that one. I will perhaps restart it in June. Getting to the gym and/or pool has not been possible to due needing my energy for other things (like coping with DWP benefits meetings or hospital appointments). I did manage a short swim (32 lengths) on 06/05/2013 but that has been it.

I guess I might make it to the gym this Friday but, right now, I can't imagine having the energy to do it...

Neck & Tooth & Rehab on hold

Catchy title....not. I thought I had better post an update to round out the month. Ups and downs over the past 12 days or so. The compulsory group meeting at the Job Centre was somewhat disorientating. It certainly wasn't geared towards those who have degree level intelligence and/or intense motivation to get well and back to work. I guess it's a case of having to cater for all shapes and sizes, as it were. Anyway, I found the whole thing very depressing and annihilating (I had no idea how I fitted in to their perception of people or society. It was all very bizarre and like being plunged into a parallel universe that I didn't recognise). I thought I had weathered it quite well but then spent the weekend struggling with extreme anxiety, not wanting to leave the house and feeling completely drained (sleeping on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon before also sleeping through the nights). The group meeting is being followed up by the government's "Work Programme", run by private sector companies. I won't post about that on this blog but suffice to say it is effecting my life and I only hope it won't completely derail me from my goals to be fit and well.

On the Monday, I made myself go for a swim in spite of feeling anxious and drained. It is the one thing which I know reduces my anxiety levels and clears my head. I find the water soothing but, most of all, the repetitive strokes and controlled breathing are what really ground me. I only did 40 lengths (1km) but felt better for it.

After 2 physio treatments for my right cricked neck and a sport's massage of the soft tissue around the neck, it is essentially no better. On top of that, my right upper wisdom tooth has decided to come through and is catching on the back of my jaw. It is excruciatingly painful to eat and difficult to talk/laugh etc. I went to the dentist yesterday and he's put me on a 5-day course of antibiotics in the hope that it is just an infected gum (where the tooth has been rubbing). If the treatment doesn't work then the tooth will need to be removed. The antibiotics are making me sleepy/tired. And, of course, I have my bone scan this week at the hospital. All in all, physical rehab has taken a bit of a back seat at that moment and I shall be very glad when this week is over.

Right Cricked Neck & Left Shoulder Restriction Returns

It's just over a week since I swam the mile. The days following it, I was pretty tired but functioning. The main issue was the right upper/inner thigh and butt pain when walking. It persisted to the point of limiting my activities - on a number of days I had to cut short walks and go home because I could barely walk on the hip any longer, it was too painful. Surprisingly, over the past 3 days, the pain has subsided and walking has been almost pain-free. It'll be interesting to see what happens after a return to the gym or pool.

The improvement in the left shoulder, external rotation, range of movement, was short-lived. It lasted a matter of days, progressively getting worse and returning to its original restricted range. On a positive note, it does show me that the shoulder is capable of normal functioning. It's just a case of finding that nerve or muscle which obviously has some control or impingement issue.

I finally gave in and made an appointment with the private physio to sort out the right cricked neck, which I've had for 13 weeks. It's painful on rotation and tilting the head to the effected side. I kept hoping it would resolve on its own. It also meant I stayed away from the gym and was reluctant to swim because I didn't really want to reinforce the muscle/nerve dysfunction. Anyway, the physio spent a good 30 mins on it today so we'll see whether that does the trick.

No gym or pool this week. I wanted to get my neck sorted out and then I've got a compulsory meeting at the Job Centre tomorrow for an hour, followed by NHS physio for my left shoulder on Friday. Basically, I didn't want to be exhausted for the Job Centre. I know I'll be very anxious about it and need all my energy to cope.

Bone Scan letter arrived today. Booked in for first week of May. Results 2 weeks after that.

Hydrotherapy Exercises

I have been meaning to write this post for years! When I was going through the 18+ months of hydrotherapy, I knew that I really should record the exercises that I did. However, I was always so tired and it felt like too much effort to try to describe each exercise. I guess I kept hoping I'd find pictures on the net at some stage and put together what the routine consisted of. Anyway, I am obviously feeling like I need to tidy things up, and tie up lose ends, so here we are with an outline of the hydrotherapy set I did religiously, week after week, for 18 months between April 2009 until November 2010 (before progressing to the NHS rehab gym class in December 2010).

I started with the 6 sessions at the hospital pool before going on to find a public pool which was warm enough for this kind of work.

During the 6 hospital sessions, there were 4-5 patients in the pool with 2 specialist physios who directed and helped with what we did. Each week, exercises got a little bit harder and/or the number of reps were increased. I think I probably started off doing 10 reps of each exercise. By the time the 6 weeks was up, I was up to 50 reps of each exercise. I was advised to stick to the 50 reps from then onwards.

Completing all exercises, at 50 reps, took me just under an hour. I sometimes added in more walking backwards and forwards, depending on how I felt. I also wore a ladies rash vest (which is what people wear under wetsuits) over my swimming costume . It provided some vital warmth whilst standing in the water. The physios encouraged me to make sure that, at all times, I was engaging my core muscles and keeping "good form" so as to activate the right muscle/nerve systems.

From start to finish then (50 reps of each exercise):

In waist high water:

• Stand by side of pool and slowly march on the spot, bringing knees up to hip height and back down again.
• Legs slightly wider than hip-width apart, slowly lower into squat position and back up.
• Take one or two kick boards. Hold them flat on the surface of the water close to the body in front of you (water preferably lower chest height). Stand up straight, engage core and placing hands onto floats, depress them under water until arms are straight, then control them as they slowly float back up.
• Take one or two kick boards. Hold them by their sides (one hand either side). With arms straight out, lay the floats flat on the water and then slightly submerged them, then, standing up straight and firm, slowly twist your trunk from side to side, dragging the float through the water with arms outstretched (essentially a trunk twist against resistance).

The next phase was done with my feet hooked under the metal bar which ran along the side of the pool, just below water level.

• Grab two woggles. Lying on your back, hook your feet under the bar. Put one woggle under the crooks of your knees, the other under armpits. Now perform a leg-press exercises - bending your knees, pulling your bum/body towards the bar and pushing it back out again (always remembering to keep your core strong)
• In same position, lying flat on the water, with a woggle under your neck as well, perform side-slide exercises (essentially lying on your back, engaging oblique muscles to slide your hand down one side and then the alternate side).
• In same position, take a light bar, with arms held straight, lift the bar from surface of water on thighs, up over head and then back again. Keep body straight and firm (do not over arch back)

Finally it was

• Step-ups using a submerged step block or pool steps, followed by some time walking forwards and backwards through water.

Additions I added later to target shoulder muscles:

• Standing in deep water so shoulders are submerged. Arms out to side, shoulder height, and perform small circles with hands (clockwise then anticlockwise)
  
• In same position, arms out in front, shoulder height, and perform small circles with hands (clockwise and anticlockwise).

Another addition to target hip adductors and abductors

• Stand by the side of the pool and, if needed, hold on lightly to the edge for balance. Stand on one leg and move the other leg out to the side and back in (both legs kept straight). Then change legs.

It's over 2 years since I did the hydrotherapy. It was an invaluable part of my rehabilitation process. The warm water was soothing to pain and the whole thing felt calming and constructive. It never felt punishing like gym work does. I believe it's what really helped get my muscles and nerves back online and open to change and rehabilitation.

New Look

Same blog, different look! In case anyone is concerned that they've come to the wrong place, I thought it was about time to update the look of my blog. I wanted to make it easier to read and less "cluttered" looking. I hope I've achieved that. Will no doubt tweak it over the coming days...

For posterity, here's a screen shot of the "old look"

"Severe Deconditioning" before its facelift!