Walking!
Posted , 15 users are following.
How is it that most of you say walking helps you get rid of the pain? If I walk for 20-30 mins I have pain which takes ages to clear up - sometimes into the next day, or even the day after (and it has since the PMR started). Exercise is good for you! OK, I know that, but what do you do if you get more and more pain by doing it?
0 likes, 38 replies
nick67069 constance.de
Posted
This is what worked for me... At first I could not walk but just a few steps. My gait was short and it felt I had sticks instead of flexible legs. I started working with PT twice a week to loosen up my quads, hamstrings and pelvic area. at the same time I started with short walks, very slow. I also spend some time after walk to stretch. Keep in mind that you should only stretch when the muscle is warm ( after exercise, not before). It took me 2-3 weeks to be able to walk 1Km ad slow speed. I tried to walk 3 times - morning noon and evening. Sitting or sleeping makes muscle stiff. So space your walks throughout the day.
In your case you have to figure out if you have another underlying problem first. Then you can think of walking. Another alternative might be to try, if you have access to pool, to do your walking in the shallow lane. Water is kinder on human body.
EileenH nick67069
Posted
And Nick is right - doing 10 mins 3 times is the same as 30 mins at once in many respects. Not in all - but you will get there eventually. Even walking around the block several times a day is better than staying in the house and sitting.
maid_mariane constance.de
Posted
Yes exercise is great for us so find an exercise that works for you and your body. Maybe water aerobics, easy on joints and you meet people and your own pace. For me I'm competitive so I do laps.
I hope you find your fit
nick67069 maid_mariane
Posted
maid_mariane nick67069
Posted
Glad you have found your muse in exercise because we all need it or we will loose mobility and it could be permanent, that's what motivated me to move it. No way I wanted to stay immobile as it is its less but improving all the time.
maid_mariane
Posted
I know it's hard but we all need to just start.
nick67069 maid_mariane
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EileenH nick67069
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I investigated aqua aerobics at our local pool - never heard back from them and it only runs in winter anyway so every winter you have to summon up the enthusiasm to go out in minus whatever to go and do it then you get to your 20x and it stops again!.
maid_mariane nick67069
Posted
It seems we are lucky here in Ontario because the majority of pool time during the day is dedicated to aqua fit and leisure swim.
Many of the seniors use the pool noodles and bounce or paddle boards and float and kick which is awesome for pmr persons who are not good swimmers. It would allow them a flotation device and movement with soft resistance which we need.
I use full water gloves (webbed) and full dive fins for resistance to build strength.
I find it sad a pool won't let you do back stroke, the guy in my lane yesterday was doing back stroke and as you can see many of us use fins not as big as mine and flotation devices.
I went to several pools before I picked because I wanted to use fins for resistance maybe it's just that pool. Also senior or disabled swim is lumped together at mine and anything goes.
My advice for non swimmers is just go and walk in the pool with a floaty, hang on the wall and move the legs to start. I see this daily.
As I say I'm biased to swim but if you can't walk this is a wonderful alternative.
For those of you who walk studies show believe it or not it's better than swimming 😕 who would have thought.
nick67069 EileenH
Posted
I understand why your back hurts. Lifting head and keeping it above water is the hardest way to swim. Besides being stiff, you are putting your body in almost vertical position and resistance is huge. Proper position would have your head aligned with the spine and as close to horizontal as possible.
As Mariane suggested, walking in the pool might be an alternative. Have you tried to take some swim lessons and get advice how to overcome limitation while you swim free style? Is breast stroke an option for you at all?
EileenH nick67069
Posted
I'm not making excuses - we don't have a "sensible" pool here like I had at my gym in the north of England which I was in every day either swimming or doing aqua classes. The culture here is totally different and the local pool is aimed at tourists for apres-ski and entertaining small children. So very loud and very splashy! It just so happens that is the one here - other towns have simple pools but there are no gyms locally with a pool. Hotel pools are also really "wellness" areas and I don't know of any open to the public as they were in England. As I say, there is a real seasonal aspect here too - in summer you are expected to use the outdoor pools and lakes. The charges are also high, despite the reduction for locals.
So I walk - it's free!
nick67069 EileenH
Posted
Anhaga nick67069
Posted
constance.de Anhaga
Posted
Anhaga constance.de
Posted
Tastyron Anhaga
Posted
b
Blast you pesky PMR.