Temps dropped into the high 20s last night so I got a fire started. To my delight, the outside wood ignited quickly with just one match and a bit of newsprint for a starter. It was enough to raise the chilly living room a modest 4 degrees, which meant a comfortable 67F. My doc called to tell me that the report from my X-rays were finalized and instead of playing phone tag, I told them to just leave the message and tell me what that meant. Cuz it's not like they're gonna put my X-rays online for me to view. The news wasn't great. "Degenerative changes in your lumbar spine. Recommending you see an orthopedic specialist." Yeah, well, that could mean arthritis, which literally everyone has, or something worse. I won't know until I speak to an orthopedic doc, so once I get my X-rays in the mail, I'll have to search one out in my health insurance network. Yes, I'm audibly groaning.
 |
| program 3 |
The one good thing about having bad sciatica is that it prevents you from kipping or otherwise using your body to help get your nose past the bar. It just hurts too much. Now it's easier to just do pull-ups with a straight body and legs crossed to keep from swaying. It's literally the only good thing about this aggravating condition. I do my 10 minutes on the step machine, and then back to pull-ups at the Stretch Cage. I'm more tired and the temptation is great to curl the lower body just to give a bit of assistance. Except this is just too painful. Nope, straighten the body, cross the legs. Done.
 |
| Stair Master |
I've looked into recommended exercises and stretches for sciatic pain. There are several that I've done over the years, but will no longer do. I read the comments section of an online article where people discuss the worst exercise for them, ranging from cat/camel through cobra. I can do cat/camel but cobra wrecks me and I suspect that movement is what's caused this latest episode. I figure, if it makes the pain worse, it's not doing anything good. Everyone has different sciatic pain because everyone has a slightly different circumstance for why that giant nerve bundle has been aggravated and aggrieved. So, bye bye to hip bridges and bird dogs. For now at least.
I did double down on push-ups because I've been musing about bone density and getting old and weak. One of my elderly friends (who is actually still quite active but is in her 80s) has trouble standing up from a chair that's too low. Those quads and glutes have weakened. I also know someone in their 60s just a tad older than me who also can't get out of a chair without help. Their son is a fitness freak and quietly complains about dad's lack of exercise consistency. I never want to be THAT person.It occured to me that I haven't pushed weights in several weeks and I feel guilty. Is doing a few pull-ups and push-ups enough?
Sure, gentle cardio is the recommended exercise for sciatic pain. And glaucoma. And I've been doing mostly cardio. But I have nightmares about losing muscle strength, so today I decided I would see what doing two sets of push-ups was like. One set of 25 was easy. My feet did go a little numb, especially in the toes. Did some arm circles and then a second set of push-ups. It didn't get difficult until rep 20. That tracks. Squeaked out the last 5 and felt okay. If I were to go straight through, I'd probably start to struggle somewhere near the 40th rep. The only reason I've stayed with 25 reps is because my glaucoma doc warns me against too much exertion (and asked me to limit to 25 reps) which might raise my eye pressures, and I'm already losing peripheral vision in my right eye. (It's always the right side!) Wonder if I'll be sore tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment