I work in healthcare and more specifically orthopedics. That can be a blessing and a curse when it comes to personal healthcare issues. It is one of those cases you don’t always practice what you preach to your patients.
Dealing with arthritis and people needing to undergo joint replacements have always motivated me to remain as active as possible as well as eating healthy. I have an uncontrollable risk for arthritis in that my mom and dad both had arthritis. I do make an attempt to control what I can. Running the last half marathon took its toll on my knees. I am not able to run more that 6 miles.
I began a weight loss program and made goals which can be seen here. I had been working out at least 5 days a week, keeping a food log and making some progress. Two weeks ago an old problem returned right hip pain. It has been bothering me intermittently but definitely this time the pain was different. I have problems with stairs, walking long distances and definitely no running. At first I tried to ignore it but even doing weights became painful. I decided to scale back on the exercise but I was not happy about it
At first, I did my all or nothing thinking. I gave up my food log and felt sorry for myself. I was not able to run the Steeler 5k. Last week I decided my behavior was not helping anything. I did make an upcoming appointment to see one of the surgeons I work with to get a definite diagnosis. I have imagined it is arthritis but know it can be something as simple as a strain.
I have begun to at least walk a few miles and do some upper body workouts. I have begun to take fish oil/flaxseed oil and glucosamine chondroitin. The supplements are my personal opinion and not endorsed by the employers. I have seen some improvement in the past couple days.
Lessons learned:
1. Listen to your body. It gives you clues as to what you need to do.
2. Do what you can do as far as exercise. It is not an all or nothing principle. Add rest days when needed as they are as important as exercise
This incident has helped me gain some insight into the people I see daily. I certainly don’t know the pain and discomfort they feel but am able to catch a glimpse of the frustration they feel when they have to decrease activities they like to do on a daily basis
I am still shooting for the Mario Lemieux run in October. It is only 4 miles and is an inaugural event. I will keep you updated. How do you handle the “bumps in the road”?
