KNEE CLASS

Just a quick post about my OA knee class today.  I learned a few things and have some new exercises and stretches to add to my routine.  The others in the class seem to be affected in only 1 knee, but 2 were more hampered by their pain and one is a trainer and spin instructor who just keeps going through her day and is in pain at night when she stops.  So I feel lucky that mine has become more work-out related with occasional flare ups and aches at night.

Anyway, my big question was: do I keep doing things if they hurt?  The physical therapist said if the pain stays at about a 3-4 and doesn't get worse, then it is okay.  So I can do most of my old routine at that level - just keep going through the discomfort.

I also realized that I am getting more of my range of motion back, so the exercises are working.  Hurray.

I have also been using the stationary bike which I find boring, but if I bring my book the time goes by pretty fast.  I put the book down every so often and do a speed interval.  I have been keeping my heart rate up in the fat burning range even while I am reading - which came as a surprise that I wasn't bouncing around too much to focus!

So for the time being I will avoid the water classes.  I can get over being the youngest in the class by 20 years or so,  I just don't want to deal with getting wet and showering and all that rigmarole.

WISHFUL THINKING

I don't think I am alone in occasionally indulging in wishful thinking.  I have done this since I was a kid.  Something about Samantha Stevens on Bewitched wiggling her nose and being able to make things happen was very appealing and I spent time thinking about all the things I would like to change that easily.

In the past few months I have been thinking about how I want to go back to before my knees started to hurt.  It has just put such a damper on my enthusiasm for exercise. 

It's ironic, too.  Most people with my family history of osteoarthritis and knee replacements have knee pain and so they exercise and diet to relieve the pain.  I was pain free until I started to diet and exercise in earnest.  Add that to your song,  Alanis Morrisette.

Anyway, it doesn't change the fact that continuing to lose weight and exercise will help the pain and ease the symptoms and put off the surgery.  The knee already takes on a force of 3 to 6 times our body weight with each step while walking!  So reducing the amount of weight it is bearing is the best thing that can be done to help it!

I am going to a "knee class" next week, I have given in and changed up my gym routine to include what I find more boring, but less painful. 

MEET MY NEW FRIEND

I spent the last week with ice packs and Advil and feeling sorry for myself and then I just decided to try something new. I am really happy with this new friend I met at the gym:

The rowing machine (not the model on it)! I was not sure that it would work with the knee issues, but the Internet research indicated it would so I gave it a go and I loved it. It is a really good workout (duh) and easier to figure out than I expected (not as uncoordinated as I thought) and it did not hurt while I was on or after.

The bonus was that I asked one of the trainers to just check out my form to make sure I was doing it right and she offered to give me 2 free training sessions! So I am scheduled for Sunday.

I am feeling so much better about things this week. Hurray.

GOOD VISIT WITH THE DOC

We are members of Kaiser, which means we get assigned a doctor. (I have been through 4 OB/GYNs!!) This is my second general doc. She is okay. She is usually very hurried and not too interested in discussing more than 1 or 2 issues per visit. So I asked about the skin thing that has been bothering me and then rushed into the knee pain before she could dash out the door.

Since she could see that my blood pressure was down to normal range and my weight was down by a lot, she did slow down to review things and discuss what I have been up to.

So the knee pain is your basic Patello-Femoral Syndrome. The same thing my family all seem to suffer from. We each seem to have our own varied triggers and pain. As I have mentioned before, ultimately, we end up with knee replacements. So I will continue with the Advil and be careful of my mechanics and rest more when my knees are protesting.

The weight is coming off just fine, so I can't complain about it. I want t be able to walk around easily when I am visiting in Philadelphia, so I am not going to do anything to jeopardise that!