Morning Stretch

Image from http://clipartmag.com downloaded Aug. 18, 2019

Getting old is a pain. Or more literally, full of small, additive aches and pains. For me, it's most often nerve pain and tightness throughout the right side of my body, i.e. sciatica. Working out my lower body through squats and lunges, etc. seems to aggravate this more following the exercise; likely from inflamation from the muscle fatigue, micro tears, etc. However, I'm not a doctor so I hate to speculate. I also notice that the pounding at my heels from walking seems to contribute to soreness and stiffness during the day.

The other area I've had issues with has been my right shoulder. I pinched a nerve/tendon in that shoulder over a year ago while replacing the clutch in my car. That took several months to heal, but seems to be recurring from some overly active work coaching football.

Regardless, the ultimate problem becomes lack of flexibility. The pain combines with the fact that loss of flexibility happens naturally with aging and lack of time being active. Work has me cooped up at my desk most of the day and being chauffeur for the kids isn't exactly yoga either?

For the moment, I've decided to work in a morning stretch. Something to help work out the stiffness my night's sleep creates and "get the blood flowing".  It's a really simplistic routine. I was originally going to watch some yoga videos and follow along, but decided to keep it even more simple: no equipment except for the rug in my living room, no new weird poses or trying to be Jean-Claude Van Damme, no turning on the furnace to stretch in 100°F air.

While I may get fancy later, I am using some basic stretches from gym class and what I remember from my couple of stints in physical therapy (putting my infant son in his car seat resulted in a week in bed from pulled back muscles). Thus the stretches include:

• Toe touches: 3 times, ~15 seconds each. Start gently and work to tapping toes, then tapping floor then pulling on shoes feet to get a little extra stretch
• Calf stretches: 3 times, ~15 seconds each. I use the stairs and have the balls of my feet on the riser and lower my heels. 
• Quad stretch: Using chair/railing I reach behind and pull my foot to my buttocks bending at the knee. I'm not that flexible so I usually use opposite hand/foot. I do each leg twice for ~20 seconds each time.
• Groin stretch: The "butterfly". I sit on the ground and put my feet together, bringing them as close to my crotch as possible. I then try to work my knees to the ground. I do this twice for ~20 seconds per time.
• More groin and hamstrings: Sitting legs out and spread I reach to the left leg, then the middle, then the right. Two times each for ~20 seconds. I try to work more into splits as I go
• Spine twist: Sitting, I bend one leg up and place that foot over my other leg. I then twist towards the bent leg/hip with my elbow on the bent leg. Two times for 15 seconds.
• Glute stretch: Laying down I bring one knee to my chest (the other straight out) and hold it for 10 seconds then bring the bent leg over my body to twist. I feel the stretch in my rear. I do the same for the other side. twice each leg for 10+20 seconds. 
• Lat Stretch: I roll over and get on my knees. I reach my hands out on the ground over my head. I then shift to the right and left feeling the stretch in my mid to low back.
• Cat stretch: This one just feels good. I go to hands and knees and arch my back up and then down. A couple times each way.
• Hip flexor stretch: Here I go into a push-up position and lower my hips to the floor, keeping my arms straight. I feel the stretch in the front and don't focus on arching my back.
• Leg swings: Optional. Sometimes I want a little more dynamics. I'll stand next to a chair and swing each leg allowing the hip and such to move and loosen. I notice a pop in my right hip from this :/.

Anyhow, that's a few moves I do and it takes roughly 10 minutes. The work does get the heart going a little, especially when I'm challenging my muscles to stretch. I've felt great after. I think the flexible start has been keeping some of the nagging pain and stiffness at bay.

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My Achilles Back

There are certain parts of me I wish I could transplant. Not really the usual "body image" kinds of things like my gut, but parts that occasionally cause me significant pain and discomfort. There are:

• The inner areas of my knees that generate sharp pains from "partially torn ligaments"
• Headaches that largely seem allergy related
• My right shoulder which always seems to be biting down on the tendons that run over the top of it.
• My big left toe which seems to have some calcification and is leftover from football
• My neck that gets stiff when I sleep on it wrong 

and...

• My back.

I remember first "tweaking" my back doing squats in high school. Lifting much like the #TBT I showed off previously.  That resulted in nerve pain sharply traversing up and down me, but was mainly centered in my lumbar region. In all honesty I don't think that pain ever really left me. Every day I feel it in one form or another, particularly down my right leg and into my foot. It feels like something should be able to stretch and or pop and the pain would go away. That would be fooling myself. I've tried massages, stretching, cracking, etc. It really seems to be more of an inflamation issue, a chronic sciatica. Pummeling only facilitates inflamation. Fortuntately, ibuprofin helps a small amount as does icing.

The worst I ever hurt my back though was putting my son into his carseat as a borderline toddler. The seat was in the rear middle of my Ford Taurus. I remember reaching in and actually feeling the stretch and pull of my Latissimus Dorsi. The weird part about this injury was that when I was "warmed up" and on my feet working and being active I felt fine. However, when I slept or gave it a chance to cool I could not get up. I remember crawling and trying so hard to get moving to nearly no avail. Physical therapy helped some and I still use many of the stretching and strengthening techniques I learned there.

I have found that most of the time I just need to be cautious. Don't over-exert. There's no need to. Stretch often and try to avoid situations where I bend at the hip without support. Ice and ibuprofin if it acts up.

Last night it acted up. Probably from a combination of helping my dad move his boat into "winter storage position", i.e. flipped over on the trailer on the side of their house, and a solid back workout the next day that involved lots exercise, but also lots of stretching.

I knew I was in for it when I laid down last night and something didn't feel right. I soon feel asleep though only to be awoken at the peak of pain around 2 a.m. The throbbing was excruciating. I wanted to get up, but I couldn't. I did some stretches in an attempt to limber and warm up. I needed ibuprofin. I needed ice. I needed to be put down like Old Yeller! Finally, in one deliberate motion I went for it and was on my feet. The nerve pain engulfed me and my whole core winced and then felt excessively warm and achy. Arriving at the kitchen and the bottle of generic analgesic the ferocity of the pain was enough to achieve the desire to vomit in the dish-filled sink.

I took 800 mg, something my athletic trainer called "zapping" with four pills every four hours and limped back to bed. There I fell asleep on my back. The pain of the journey had taken my energy and I don't remember beyond my head hitting the pillow and me clicking off of the light.

I awoke weary of my condition, but also noticed that the night journey may have helped some. I was actually able to move. It still hurt like holding a torch to my back, but I was able to get ready and go to work. Another dose of little matte maroon pills and I am actually negotiating the day better than I thought I would. Soon, I'll need another dose and to stretch.

As per the cycle this pain will settle down in a day or two and I'll be ready for the next thing.  This does make me wonder. I'm only 38 now, what will 50, 60, 70 and 80 look like from a pain standpoint. It's hard to see that far ahead, I still want to think I can play full-contact sports, run races, power lift hundreds of pounds, but where would a couple marathons or a hockey or football league leave my knees and my back?

Fitness and staying healthy is a one-day-at-a-time ordeal. I will get better. I need to keep working, but it's important to consider staying healthy for the long run. Having the ability to be of service to family and friends. To be able to play catch with potential grand children of the future, etc.

But in the moment, my back hurts and I would trade it in if I could.