Search results matching tag 'arthritis'

Re: Exercise

SgtCedar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:49:17 GMT

My cedar walking stick is made of two types of cedar. The shaft is white cedar. It is holding up very well. The handle is red cedar. It is a much softer wood. It scratches easily. If you are worried about wet weather you might want to consider bamboo. Brazos makes an iron bamboo stick. I have not used it but bamboo should hold up well in wet conditions.

Noise might be an issue depending on where you walk. If you are in an area with wildlife I could see an advantage to giving the natives a little warning.

The important thing is to keep moving. My rheumatologist told me to do whatever I had to do as long as I was exercising and losing weight.

Re: Exercise

SgtCedar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:54:51 GMT

I mainly use the hiking staff because I have trouble walking straight. A neurologist once told me I probably could not walk straight to save my life. I have two different sticks for different uses.

I have a long hiking staff which comes about up to my arm pit. It is made of dogwood and has the bark on it with a spiral cut in the bark. I use it mainly for longer walks. I have to make sure I switch hands from time to time or my left shoulder and elbow gets sore.

I have a cedar walking stick which I use around town or when driving. I find the derby handle on it more comfortable for shorter walks. It does not have the bark but is still distinctive looking.

Using a walking stick does allow me to walk a little faster. I am not sure if it really gives much of an upper body workout.

Both sticks were bought from brazos-walking-sticks.com. They have an amazing range of woods and designs. They are not cheap but are well made and should last a lifetime.

I couldn't agree with you more about the donuts.

Re: Exercise

SgtCedar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:02:16 GMT

I finally figured out why I was having pain in my knees. I saw the rheumatologist and he confirmed my conclusion. The problem with the arthritis and tendinitis in my knees was walking on concrete sidewalks. I switched to walking in alleys, parking lots, and side streets in residential areas. I also started wearing a support on both knees.

I was worried the knee supports might cause long term problems. The doctor said they were fine as long as I only wear them when exercising.

I am not up to where I can walk 12 miles. I went from walking 2 miles 5 days a week and 3 miles two days a week to 3-4 miles five days a week, 6-8 miles once a week, and 8-12 miles once a week. The only real limitation on how far I can walk is the available time.

It has helped that they opened a new Rails-To-Trails route in the area. The trail is mostly flat and a very easy walk. Part of it is blacktop and part is small gravel. I walk parts of the trail 3-4 times a week. I have lost over 60 pounds since being diagnosed as having diabetes early this year. I still have about 30 pounds to lose. It is great being about two thirds of the way to my eventual weight goal.

Re: Exercise

SgtCedar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:52:10 GMT

I use the store brand it works as well and is much cheaper. I get the big bottle at Rite Aid. I am sure most major chains sell a store brand. I could not live without it.

Re: Exercise

SgtCedar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:49:22 GMT

You are right about up and down steps. My apartment is on the second floor of a ninteenth-century building with a store on the first floor. I often get out of breath walking up the steps but my knees normally only hurt when I go down the loooong steps.

I do not know how much weight is taken off the knees when you lose 10 pounds. I will ask my reumatologist when I see him next month. Four pounds sounds reasonable.

You never realize how uneaven the sidewalks are until your knees hurt. The city put in the wheelchair ramps a few years ago when they got money to replace all the traffic signals and street signs with overhead fixtures. While the signals and signs were all done by one company the ramps were done by several companies. I do not know how many different designs and shapes there are.

The city has a lot of shade trees. The result is many uneven walks. While the city replaces some old sidewalks they did not replace the curbs in most cases. I knew we had a lot of curbs that were not concrete but I never realized how many. Some have very durable granite curbs like old banks and some old churches but most of them are slate. The slate curbs are almost gone in most places. The sidewalks that the city redbuilt seem to have been built with a normal slope toward the street. However some owners hired a contractor to do the work rather than paying the city. If the curb was almost gone they simply put the walk at any crazy angle to meet the top of what was left of the curb.

Most people probably never realize how bad the sidewalks are. It is only those of us with arthritis or knee injuries who suffer. The good news though is today I managed to walk two miles with no pain in my knees. It did not even take two blocks for my knees to stop being stiff.

Re: Exercise

SgtCedar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:24:51 GMT

I have not needed surgery yet. I am sure it is a matter of time. I am hoping if I can lose enough weight it will take enough strain off the knees to push it way down the road.

It is funny in a way that getting a diagnosis of diabetes was needed to motivate me to get my weight under control. My doctor has been after me for years. While I was not given early retirement from the National Guard because of my weight, it was a problem way back then (about 9 years ago). I atribute success this time to two things.

I have a friend who has had diabetes for many years and she really suffers from the effects of neuropathy. I caught the diabetes early and I am determined to avoid the kinds of problems she has. She went looking for a doctor who would give her a magic pill. When one doctor told her there was no easy treatment she went to another doctor, then another, and so on.

My family doctor (the same doctor my friend goes to) and the endocrynologist agreed my family doctor could control diabetes when it is caught this early. Since I like this doctor I am sticking with him. He listens to what you say.I do not believe in magic cures.

The other reason I think I am having more success controling my weight this time is the endocrynologist set me up for diabetes education classes and with a dietitian. I have thought for years instead of just telling me to eat less and exercise more that I needed someone to tell me what to eat.

Re: Exercise

SgtCedar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:31:45 GMT

I hurt my knee last Saturday while walking. I had to cut back on my walking. I went from walking at least 2 miles every day to 1 mile Sunday. Today I upped my milage to 1.5 miles. I found my knee stopped hurting as much after about two blocks. I made sure I stayed close to home in case trouble developed.

I will limit my walking to 2 miles until I am sure things are healed. I hated the reduction in activity but I figure things could be a lot worse if I continued to push my knees which already have arthritis.

Re: Exercise

SgtCedar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:35:22 GMT

For the last month I have walked every day. The last day which I did not walk at least 1.5 miles was May 19th, election day here in Pennsylvania. I was poll watching all day so I was sitting most of the day which made matters even worse. I hurt for a week after that. I swore I would walk rain or shine after that. I know form past experience that if I miss 2 days in a row it will be too easy to stop walking.

I have lost something like 20 pounds since being diagnosed with diabetes. No, that is not since May 19th. I had been walking about 5 days a week for several months before election day. I used to lose weight by running when I was in the National Guard. Since developing arthritis my doctor will not let me run any more.

My glucose reading are normal again and the A1c dropped from 7% to 6.3%. My blood pressure dropped enough that I could stop one of the two blood pressure pills. My family doctor is thrilled.

I alternate between a shorter and a longer distance. THe short distance is 2-2.25 miles and the longer is 3-3.25 currently. My eventual goal is to get up to at least 4 miles at least twice a week and 2 miles the other 5 days. These distances are symbolic for me. Two miles was the distance I was required to run twice a year in the National Guard. If you were not cleared to run you were required to walk 4 miles.

The most important thing I have learned since starting to walk every day is never stop. I have respiratory problems. Instead of stopping and resting when I get out of breath I now slow down and drink a little water. Always carry water if you are not in a city where you can always find water. I then walk slowly for a block or so until I catch my breath.

One trick I learned from a pamphlet from the American Diabetes Association is use a hiking staff. I have a fancy one but a branch will do. Use the stick to push yourself along just a little. The more you use your arms the more calories you burn. I am sure an exercise physiologist would say it does not burn enough calories to count but when you need to lose weight like I do every little bit helps.

If it rains take an umbrella. Don't let anything stop you.