@BarbaraDrabek Motion isn’t always lotion. I have Rapidly Degenerative Osteoarthritis all over my body - my spine, hips, back, feet, and knees are affected - so far. Eventually it will be my entire body. My knees are so severe that rather than there being a round-shape to the interior of my knee, it’s oval-shaped. 2.5 years ago, my orthopedic surgeon told me to quit doing stairs, exercise that challenged my knees, excess walking, snowboarding, and skiing, because if my knees get any worse before my replacements, they won’t be able to do the replacements.
So be careful not to rely on generalized statements like, “Motion is lotion.” For some of us, motion is grinding down our bones, creating hundreds of excruciating bone spurs, eroding our discs, giving us Spinal Stenosis, keeping us in incessant pain, and leading to many financially pricey surgeries that also means losing salary during recovery time.
For those of us with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis, moving is also a threat of breaking a bone and having it possibly not heal. Last year I just got up to pee in the middle of the night and my foot broke laterally and horizontally. The surgery cost me $6,000+ and now I have constant foot pain. That foot no longer fits in most of my shoes because of the plates and screws I had to have put in. My foot is still always somewhat swollen, even 1.25 years after the surgery. I wake up with it throbbing. So if I hadn’t gotten up to pee, I wouldn’t have broken my foot. In that instance, motion was a disaster for me, not any kind of lotion.
I encourage everyone to spend your body wisely and in the way suggested to you by your physicians because your body is worth more than dollars you spend. I spent my body very aggressively in my youth, and now look where I am. I don’t regret how or when I chose to spend my body, but it’s certainly made the second half of my life painful and terrifying. I also have crappy DNA; nothing can be done to change that. My DNA caused most of my conditions; thanks, grandma. I’m so glad I didn’t have children to pass on any of my problems to. My DNA doesn’t deserve to be passed on.
I am allowed to exercise in ways that don’t bend or twist my back or put any strain on my knees, but only at the orthopedic hospital in a special program called Arthrofit for those with Osteoarthritis or Osteoporosis. There are at least three physical therapists and two nurses on hand at all times, and never more than 15 patients at a time. They have a pool. They follow your doctor’s orders. My health insurance doesn’t cover it but fortunately after the initial assessment that’s a few hundred dollars, membership in the program “only” costs $60/month. When you consider the talent you’re working with, it’s actually a great bargain. It costs farrrrrr less than one individual session with a physical therapist - those usually cost at least $150 each. With Arthrofit, you can go as often as you like for just the $60/month, and there will actually be more helping you than an individual PT session. If my insurance covered the hospital system that Arthrofit is in, it would be free like it is to my dad and my friend. But I have still have CA insurance, not UT insurance, for now.
Most people can and should exercise regularly. Just check with your doctors first!
I miss yoga so much. There isn’t a single yoga pose that doesn’t make your back bend or twist. I used to work out for at least 2.5 hours per day, sometimes with a backpack full of 50 lbs. of flour so I could train to backpack and backcountry ski/snowboard on America’s tallest peaks, sometimes for 30+ consecutive days. I miss those days like crazy; I’d give anything to go back to that level of physical fitness with minimal pain. I dream that after my knee replacements, I’ll be able to get back to at least some of it over the next decade of my life before my Osteopenia turns into full-blown Osteoporosis, but my back pain will keep me from being able to go full gusto like I used to. There’s no surgery that will fix what’s wrong with my back; alas, there’s no such thing as a spine replacement.
Anyway, just wanted to remind everyone not to rely on generalized statements. I’m sure there are many more conditions that prevent people from doing full-blown exercise.
