Being that I sit for my job as many professionals do these days, I sometimes will get so involved with my work that I forget to get up and move around. It is recommended that desk people should get up and move around at least once every 45-60 minutes. I really know when I have sat to long as just getting up out of the chair hurts and my first few steps are not the most graceful.
Having issues with tight hamstring muscles hinders ones ability to walk and so keeping the hamstring muscles flexible is very important as they help us flex the knee, extend the hip and thighs. Until I did some research I did not realize that there are actually three muscles that make up the hamstring. The biceps femoris is the largest of the three and is on the outer back of the leg. Next to that is the semitendinosus and is the second largest and lastly is the semimembranosus which is the smallest of them all and located in the back inner area of the upper leg. All three join together to the pelvis or what some of us call the sitting bones.
My right hamstrings are very tight and have been for years. I do many stretches and sometimes I can get to the point where they don't bother me but since I used the leg machines at the gym I have been in agony. So here is what I have done to take control of this situation.
Massage, stretches and ice. If you have a good massage therapist they can help to loosen the hamstrings and give you greater range of motion and relief from pain. Sometimes it can take several visits as what happens with me, as soon as I sit down they tighten right back up.
The stretches that I have been really trying to do more of to help gain back range of motion, flexibility are ones where I sit on the floor with my legs out in front, feet flexed and slowly bend forward and hold only when I feel a slight pull. Hold for a count of 30 and release. Another one that I like to do while standing also stretches the calf muscles. Standing in front of a wall, I stretch out my arms with elbows bend slightly, right leg in front bend but knee does not extend over the toes, left leg is extended behind with heel touching the floor. To maximize this stretch I will also lean in a little which will give a deeper stretch always watching to be sure the knee and foot are in alignment. I hold this for 30 seconds and repeat on the other leg. Doing three sets of each gives me relief and when I am consistent the benefits are great, easier getting up out of chairs and walking is much more pleasant.
One site I have enjoyed looking at some other stretches for the hamstring muscles can be viewed at https://www.verywellfit.com/hamstring-stretches-2696359. It was a very informative site and I am always looking for new stretches that can help. They have one I will try where you place your heel with toes flexed, leg straight, arms over head and lean forward to keep the back straight. I will post an update on my improvement with my hamstrings and the stretches that help me the most.
Update on week - Back and legs giving me much trouble so I went to the gym Monday and Tuesday and had good workouts, ooops "playtime", but I do think I did too much aerobic on Tuesday as I laid in bed that night withering in pain. Nothing worked so up all night. Thursday I saw a different massage therapist as this was short notice to call my regular massage therapist but this was more for sport injuries and he just focused on the area that I needed worked on. It helped decrease the pain and since he told me I had a lot of low back swelling and heat radiating from that area to be sure to ice it. Using an ice pack only for ten minutes at a time. Today I feel much better and will be going for another massage today with my regular massage therapist. I did take time out on Wed, Thur, and Friday to have some "recess" in home. I did my stretches and floor exercises with some light weights and stretch bands.
Reminder for this week is for me to get up and move around every hour and stretch those hamstrings!
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Monday, April 22, 2019
Exercise & Workout vs Recess & Play
I was thinking the other day about when I was in school and thought back on when we went out for recess. It was a time for fun, running, swinging, climbing the jungle gym, jump roping and many other activities we could think up.
When at home, after finishing up our chores, we could go out to play. That might have consisted of riding my bike, walking to a friends house to play, climbing a tree to read a book, raking leaves into trails that lead to make believe rooms, roller skating, ice skating and more.
As an adult thinking back to these activities brought a smile to my face. Why then don't we adults go out for "recess" or go out to "play"? Instead we give physical activity the dreaded words of "exercise" or "workout". They don't sound like a lot of fun. When we were out for recess or out playing we got hot and sweaty so why are we complaining about getting hot and sweaty when we exercise?
I am trying something new with this train of thought and when I am at home and have home exercises to do I am thinking of it as recess or play. Even 15 minutes of recess can help clear the mind, make one feel good, and continue to accomplish what one needed to do around the house. Going out to play would be when I go to the gym and I tell myself I am going to play on the machines. This I find does help and it puts a smile on my face. I will even tell myself, " I am out playing and having a great time!"
If you have a pet, either a cat or a dog, observe them when they first get up. They go through a process of stretching to get any kinks out. Do we do that when we first get up. I am trying now to sit at the edge of my bed in the morning and I will stretch my arms over head and then move my neck to stretch the muscles and finally I will slowly turn side to side to loosen my back muscles. This does help before getting up to walk. I guess we can learn something beneficial from observing animals more closely.
Movement is so important to daily living and the quality of life.
Update: Last week I injured my low back so that my legs and knees were quite painful when standing and walking around. I had tried some leg machines and they are bad news for my low back. At least the machines are. They tilt backwards when you go to lift up with the legs and even though I had everything positioned correctly and of course, tightened my core muscles and used a light weight it felt like a knife in my low back and I just haven't been the same since. At the gym on Wednesday night, I didn't have a meeting to go too so I went to play at the gym even though I hurt. I first did 30 min of the bike and then when to one of the weight machines where you have to pull down and slowly release back up. This took care of the pain in my back and I felt great the rest of time I worked out with the weights. Then just before finishing, I unfortunately used the leg lift machine. Once again sharp pain in the low back and then had problems walking. I did some walking on the treadmill and then 30 min. on the elliptical machine and to finish I went over to the weight machine that I first used that got rid of the back pain but unfortunately it didn't work. Needless to say I did not go to the gym for the rest of the week because of how painful walking was.
I had a wonderful 90 min. massage on Saturday that did help some and I am hoping that my stretching my lower back muscles will eventually free things up more. This is my real trouble area.
I had a doctor appointment on Friday and my bone density is about the same so that is good so fractures of the lower spine and hip area is low. We talked about one of my finger joints and he showed me what to do to try and relieve pain and if it continues to bother he said he can do an injection. I haven't had problems with this finger until I started working out at the gym. It is most likely having to grip everything and that joint just doesn't like it. At least I don't have to return to see this doctor for another year unless something changes.
So my goal for this week is to strive for the 30 - 60 minutes of aerobic activity and thinking of all of my workouts as recess or play.
Enjoy your week! Until next time.........
When at home, after finishing up our chores, we could go out to play. That might have consisted of riding my bike, walking to a friends house to play, climbing a tree to read a book, raking leaves into trails that lead to make believe rooms, roller skating, ice skating and more.
As an adult thinking back to these activities brought a smile to my face. Why then don't we adults go out for "recess" or go out to "play"? Instead we give physical activity the dreaded words of "exercise" or "workout". They don't sound like a lot of fun. When we were out for recess or out playing we got hot and sweaty so why are we complaining about getting hot and sweaty when we exercise?
I am trying something new with this train of thought and when I am at home and have home exercises to do I am thinking of it as recess or play. Even 15 minutes of recess can help clear the mind, make one feel good, and continue to accomplish what one needed to do around the house. Going out to play would be when I go to the gym and I tell myself I am going to play on the machines. This I find does help and it puts a smile on my face. I will even tell myself, " I am out playing and having a great time!"
If you have a pet, either a cat or a dog, observe them when they first get up. They go through a process of stretching to get any kinks out. Do we do that when we first get up. I am trying now to sit at the edge of my bed in the morning and I will stretch my arms over head and then move my neck to stretch the muscles and finally I will slowly turn side to side to loosen my back muscles. This does help before getting up to walk. I guess we can learn something beneficial from observing animals more closely.
Movement is so important to daily living and the quality of life.
Update: Last week I injured my low back so that my legs and knees were quite painful when standing and walking around. I had tried some leg machines and they are bad news for my low back. At least the machines are. They tilt backwards when you go to lift up with the legs and even though I had everything positioned correctly and of course, tightened my core muscles and used a light weight it felt like a knife in my low back and I just haven't been the same since. At the gym on Wednesday night, I didn't have a meeting to go too so I went to play at the gym even though I hurt. I first did 30 min of the bike and then when to one of the weight machines where you have to pull down and slowly release back up. This took care of the pain in my back and I felt great the rest of time I worked out with the weights. Then just before finishing, I unfortunately used the leg lift machine. Once again sharp pain in the low back and then had problems walking. I did some walking on the treadmill and then 30 min. on the elliptical machine and to finish I went over to the weight machine that I first used that got rid of the back pain but unfortunately it didn't work. Needless to say I did not go to the gym for the rest of the week because of how painful walking was.
I had a wonderful 90 min. massage on Saturday that did help some and I am hoping that my stretching my lower back muscles will eventually free things up more. This is my real trouble area.
I had a doctor appointment on Friday and my bone density is about the same so that is good so fractures of the lower spine and hip area is low. We talked about one of my finger joints and he showed me what to do to try and relieve pain and if it continues to bother he said he can do an injection. I haven't had problems with this finger until I started working out at the gym. It is most likely having to grip everything and that joint just doesn't like it. At least I don't have to return to see this doctor for another year unless something changes.
So my goal for this week is to strive for the 30 - 60 minutes of aerobic activity and thinking of all of my workouts as recess or play.
Enjoy your week! Until next time.........
Friday, April 12, 2019
Coming off Blood Thinners and Updates
Blood thinners are important for those of us that must use them to control the formation of blood clots. Having a clot is not a bed of roses, ask anyone that has had the experience! However, there might come a time where you might need to make the decision to stay on them or to come off. That is what I faced yesterday.
My Oncologist went over my recent blood work for the D-DIMER and Cardiolipin AB IGM and AB IGG. My IGM was still high at 33.8 and was I registered as a "weak positive" (<15.0-39.9) for Lupus. The Cardiolipin AB IGG was <9.4 so this number was in fact normal. My D-Dimer was 151 which is now in the normal range. 230 is the cut off. I was really pleased with the results.
So you might ask what is the concern here if the D-Dimer is normal? Well the cardiolipin antibodies are the largest antibody that our bodies create and since my body is still producing a higher number these can form a clot anywhere in my body. It is also a sign of inflammation and these antibodies usually have to be controlled with thinners and immune suppressant drugs. Later if they become extremely numerous chemotherapy might have to be used as a last resort.
However, with the D-Dimer in the normal range and even though my number 33.8 is considered high, it isn't any wheres near as high as some other people that I know who have this problem. We also have connected my clots to when I become ill with a bad infection. So after much talking of the pros and cons of the blood thinner and the fact that I am still young, we have opted to remove the blood thinner I was on off of my list of drugs to take. So can I have another blood clot? Absolutely! What will I do to try and prevent another clot and monitor things?
The answer, is that I will be taking an aspirin a day, drink 8-10 glasses of water a day, and get 30-60 minutes a day of moderate aerobic activity every day. It sounds like a lot but since this is my journey to wellness I am going to try it. We will monitor my blood work in three months to see if there is any change in the cardiolipins and the D-Dimer. If there is an increase then I might have to go back on a low dosage of the thinner and monitor things but to me less is best as my body does not like medications.
I find that if I read up on my conditions and try to find ways to improve my health my doctors have more respect for me. My doctor said that I am one of the few who really has tried to understand what is happening to my immune system and trying to find ways to lessen the stress on it. I will share more on that in another blog.
I will give an update on this in another three months and pray for no clots to form.
My update on my exercise challenge at the gym is great. We did body comps this week to finish up the challenge and I lost a total of eleven inches, gained 2.1% in muscle and lost 3.6% in body fat!!!
I did not lose a lot of weight but that will come as I think I mentioned before that you have to build muscle before you can burn the fat underneath it. They have not tallied all the other peoples numbers yet but we hope to know how we ranked as a group by next week. I did not join the challenge to win anything as I just needed something to motivate me to get using my membership and encourage me to continue. Who knows, maybe my numbers will be the best. I know so far I have lost the most in the inch department!
I did ask when they did my body comp. if I could have mine done every five weeks so that I can stay motivated and see the changes. They said, "yes", to my delight! So I will be able to continue to share with you accurate changes to my health in this area and hope to help anyone who is trying to lose weight that it isn't the scale that determines your success but it is the other numbers that tell the real story!
May you all have a great week and may you also succeed in having better health!
My Oncologist went over my recent blood work for the D-DIMER and Cardiolipin AB IGM and AB IGG. My IGM was still high at 33.8 and was I registered as a "weak positive" (<15.0-39.9) for Lupus. The Cardiolipin AB IGG was <9.4 so this number was in fact normal. My D-Dimer was 151 which is now in the normal range. 230 is the cut off. I was really pleased with the results.
So you might ask what is the concern here if the D-Dimer is normal? Well the cardiolipin antibodies are the largest antibody that our bodies create and since my body is still producing a higher number these can form a clot anywhere in my body. It is also a sign of inflammation and these antibodies usually have to be controlled with thinners and immune suppressant drugs. Later if they become extremely numerous chemotherapy might have to be used as a last resort.
However, with the D-Dimer in the normal range and even though my number 33.8 is considered high, it isn't any wheres near as high as some other people that I know who have this problem. We also have connected my clots to when I become ill with a bad infection. So after much talking of the pros and cons of the blood thinner and the fact that I am still young, we have opted to remove the blood thinner I was on off of my list of drugs to take. So can I have another blood clot? Absolutely! What will I do to try and prevent another clot and monitor things?
The answer, is that I will be taking an aspirin a day, drink 8-10 glasses of water a day, and get 30-60 minutes a day of moderate aerobic activity every day. It sounds like a lot but since this is my journey to wellness I am going to try it. We will monitor my blood work in three months to see if there is any change in the cardiolipins and the D-Dimer. If there is an increase then I might have to go back on a low dosage of the thinner and monitor things but to me less is best as my body does not like medications.
I find that if I read up on my conditions and try to find ways to improve my health my doctors have more respect for me. My doctor said that I am one of the few who really has tried to understand what is happening to my immune system and trying to find ways to lessen the stress on it. I will share more on that in another blog.
I will give an update on this in another three months and pray for no clots to form.
My update on my exercise challenge at the gym is great. We did body comps this week to finish up the challenge and I lost a total of eleven inches, gained 2.1% in muscle and lost 3.6% in body fat!!!
I did not lose a lot of weight but that will come as I think I mentioned before that you have to build muscle before you can burn the fat underneath it. They have not tallied all the other peoples numbers yet but we hope to know how we ranked as a group by next week. I did not join the challenge to win anything as I just needed something to motivate me to get using my membership and encourage me to continue. Who knows, maybe my numbers will be the best. I know so far I have lost the most in the inch department!
I did ask when they did my body comp. if I could have mine done every five weeks so that I can stay motivated and see the changes. They said, "yes", to my delight! So I will be able to continue to share with you accurate changes to my health in this area and hope to help anyone who is trying to lose weight that it isn't the scale that determines your success but it is the other numbers that tell the real story!
May you all have a great week and may you also succeed in having better health!
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Interesting books to read and weekly update
I believe that keeping ones mind active is very important not only in keeping the brain from loosing its ability to function properly but learning new things can also give us great pleasure.
I enjoy reading non-fiction books as I strongly believe that educating ones self is the best thing we can do. We are never to old to learn something new. The book I am now reading was recommended by my 102 year old cousin. Yes that is correct, 102 years young! He recommended two books by the same author, The Hidden Life of Trees and The Inner Life of Animals, written by Peter Wohllenben. I am about three quarters of the way through The Hidden Life of Trees which is the first book and I have learned quite a lot of how trees can protect themselves by creating chemicals that can be emitted into the air to warn of other like trees of danger and produce another chemical to make their leaves bitter so as to stop an animal from eating the leaves.
The other is how underground there is quite a network of fungi and other micro organisms that work together and with the trees permission they feed off of the trees sugar but at the same time they help the tree. Trees do better when there are several near one another as they can support one of the trees if it is in distress in lacking enough water, nutrients, and the like. Unfortunately if it is very ill it might be to much for the surrounding trees to support and it then it dies. Lots of interesting information about the growing habits of different trees. A good read if you are looking to learn something new.
Another book I have been using a lot is The World's Healthiest Foods, by George Mateljan. Second edition. Since I keep a food diary I use the nutrition panels everyday. It gives the serving size and then all of the nutrients that are contained in that serving. The book also discusses each food item, how to store, prepare and cook. They also include a couple of short recipes for each. In the back there is a section on vitamins that we need in our diet and how they help our bodies. There is also a section on herbs and so much more. It was well worth the $40.00 as I now have something at my figure tips that can give me information right away on any food I have a question about. I have to keep my fat and cholesterol down low and this tells me everything I need to know. Our local library had a copy of the first edition and I took the book out to see how helpful it would be and I liked it greatly. In checking online I saw there was a newer edition available to I went to Barnes and Noble, had to drive an hour or so to get there, and they had a copy but it was damaged so I had them order me the book and it was shipped to my home.
This week I have been able to get to the gym three days. I still have today which I have already put in an hour of home exercising and tomorrow. Then sometime next week we have to have our body comps done. I am not sure how well I will do this time as I wasn't able to exercise for a week and a half because of pain in my low back and legs, but I am putting my all into this week and as many days up to when they let me know when I need to come in for the body comp. They will weigh us, measure and check to see what percentage of fat we have lost and how much muscle was gained. I did well the last time so no matter what I have gained some good ground in getting healthier. The real trick after this coming week will be keeping the momentum rolling. I might ask what they charge to do a periodic comp check. It would be worth paying a little for it as I am sure like with everything else, it isn't free. We shall see. Hopefully by next Saturday I will have my final numbers to share.
Have a great week and remember that reading and learning something new is important for keeping the brain active and it gives a person something new to talk about!
I enjoy reading non-fiction books as I strongly believe that educating ones self is the best thing we can do. We are never to old to learn something new. The book I am now reading was recommended by my 102 year old cousin. Yes that is correct, 102 years young! He recommended two books by the same author, The Hidden Life of Trees and The Inner Life of Animals, written by Peter Wohllenben. I am about three quarters of the way through The Hidden Life of Trees which is the first book and I have learned quite a lot of how trees can protect themselves by creating chemicals that can be emitted into the air to warn of other like trees of danger and produce another chemical to make their leaves bitter so as to stop an animal from eating the leaves.
The other is how underground there is quite a network of fungi and other micro organisms that work together and with the trees permission they feed off of the trees sugar but at the same time they help the tree. Trees do better when there are several near one another as they can support one of the trees if it is in distress in lacking enough water, nutrients, and the like. Unfortunately if it is very ill it might be to much for the surrounding trees to support and it then it dies. Lots of interesting information about the growing habits of different trees. A good read if you are looking to learn something new.
Another book I have been using a lot is The World's Healthiest Foods, by George Mateljan. Second edition. Since I keep a food diary I use the nutrition panels everyday. It gives the serving size and then all of the nutrients that are contained in that serving. The book also discusses each food item, how to store, prepare and cook. They also include a couple of short recipes for each. In the back there is a section on vitamins that we need in our diet and how they help our bodies. There is also a section on herbs and so much more. It was well worth the $40.00 as I now have something at my figure tips that can give me information right away on any food I have a question about. I have to keep my fat and cholesterol down low and this tells me everything I need to know. Our local library had a copy of the first edition and I took the book out to see how helpful it would be and I liked it greatly. In checking online I saw there was a newer edition available to I went to Barnes and Noble, had to drive an hour or so to get there, and they had a copy but it was damaged so I had them order me the book and it was shipped to my home.
This week I have been able to get to the gym three days. I still have today which I have already put in an hour of home exercising and tomorrow. Then sometime next week we have to have our body comps done. I am not sure how well I will do this time as I wasn't able to exercise for a week and a half because of pain in my low back and legs, but I am putting my all into this week and as many days up to when they let me know when I need to come in for the body comp. They will weigh us, measure and check to see what percentage of fat we have lost and how much muscle was gained. I did well the last time so no matter what I have gained some good ground in getting healthier. The real trick after this coming week will be keeping the momentum rolling. I might ask what they charge to do a periodic comp check. It would be worth paying a little for it as I am sure like with everything else, it isn't free. We shall see. Hopefully by next Saturday I will have my final numbers to share.
Have a great week and remember that reading and learning something new is important for keeping the brain active and it gives a person something new to talk about!
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