The Fit Nation

https://ift.tt/iN9eYfI Last Sunday and Monday we had our first good rain of the season, over 2″ total. Tuesday there were some residual showers but I was able to sneak an easy 30 minute ride in. Later in the day I did a short ride on my upright. I also did a hard upper body workout that day which felt good. I do a lot of PT for the back and hip area as part of those workouts, I want to strengthen all the stabilizing muscles so I’m less likely to have a flare-up of sciatica. Yesterday was sunny and clear and I went for a 70 minute cruise on my recumbent, then 50 minutes on the upright. I threw in 8 intervals of brisk riding while standing. This is a good way to get the heart rate up without working the glute muscles too hard, as they are still a bit sore from my recent adventures. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We got some nice clouds on Tuesday later in the day after the storm broke up Nice Sunny Day Yesterday, Looking West From Dougherty Ave

https://ift.tt/reKcuU9 As I mentioned in my last post I finished my group ride last week by taking a tumble while getting off my bike. I landed on my derriere pretty hard as well as my head. The head was well-protected by my helmet, and later that day I got a replacement with even better safety rating from my bike shop. My head was pretty much undamaged thanks to the helmet. I got some whiplash which fortunately didn’t affect the cervical spine but did make my neck muscles sore for a few days. My back was ok, no fractures, but the natural padding provided by my glute muscles took the brunt of it so those muscles were very sore. I took it easy riding for a few days, but was still able to train the upper body hard. Yesterday was my first longer and harder ride, and everything felt much better. It’s nice to learn the lesson from a mistake like the one I made, and then bounce back from it. View From The Top of East Middle Ave in San Martin

https://ift.tt/YdJW4UE I decided my stamina had come back enough that I could try my Tuesday group ride. We did one of my favorite rides- “round the reservoirs” plus an out and back on Casa Loma Road. I rode my recumbent because it’s easier on my back and less likely to cause a flareup of my stenosis. I used electric assist as needed to keep up. and had plenty of battery to get me through the ride. Very enjoyable ride on a beautiful late fall day. Taking a break at Rancho Canada Del Oro Open Space on Casa Loma Road Uvas Reservoir After the ride was over I had a freak fall getting off the bike. As I swung my leg over it snagged on the frame tube, so was temporarily balanced on one leg. Before I got it lose I fell over backwards, slamming my back (near the sacrum) and my head on the pavement. Fortunately my helmet saved me. So now I’ve got a new helmet (it’s not a good idea to re-use one after a big impact). Also a sore back, which should go away in a day or two. Time to work more...

https://ift.tt/zyuWf2Q www.Amazon.com/books I just read a really good book for patients on rehabbing spinal stenosis, by physical therapist Terri Night: “Rehab Your Own Spinal Stenosis: Strategies to Improve the Health of Your Spine”. First of all it is very encouraging, pointing out that a lot of older folks have spinal stenosis and have no symptoms. She points out that various factors such as inflammation and hydration status, over which we have considerable control, play a major role in how severe symptoms might be. She has worked with many patients over the years who did have severe symptoms, often worse than mine, and they significantly improved using the strategies outlined in the book, including aerobic exercise, stretching of the spine and hips, strengthening of the muscles around the spine, and lifestyle changes. There is a final discussion on surgical options in case symptoms persist, or if you have more severe symptoms like numbness or loss of bladder control. I got s...

https://ift.tt/5NGJCEB I saw my new orthopedic doctor for the first time today (my previous one had retired). I got surprising news: I have sciatica from my back (not the hip, such as piriformis muscle). An mri of my back shows bulging lumber disk and spinal stenosis, right where the sciatic nerve comes out on the left side. The condition is moderate so under normal conditions the nerve is not compressed. But anything the inflames the disk can compress the disk and cause sciatica. This explains why I got my first symptoms of sciatica after exercising too strenuously about a month ago. Then it calmed down after a couple of weeks, and I flared it up again with more exercise. It also explains why the PT exercises I’ve been doing, which are both for the piriformis muscle and the SI joint, didn’t work as well as they did in the past because they are not directly targeting the lumbar spine. For now he’s going to start me on a course of prednisone, which he thinks will do the trick because t...

https://ift.tt/xU1S4vF I’ve made quite a bit of progress this last week. I now seldom have the sciatica pain down my leg. There is still some soreness in the left hip and S.I. joint but at least the nerve is not being squished. My easy rides are up to an hour, which is plenty enough for relaxation. I am also carefully doing strength training of the muscles around the hip which has been tolerated well. I won’t push it any further until I see my orthopedic doc on Monday and see what he says. But I’m quite pleased with the progress so far, and having already had one setback, I don’t see any reason to risk rehabbing it any faster. We had our first rain of the season last night, and in the distance are the last of the storm clouds breaking up The East Bay hills looking past the vines at Guilliermo winery.