D14 - To Knee or not to Knee

 That is the Question

Taking An Active Stance (Pun Intended)

Today, after contemplating what surgery might look like for my knee issues and the fact it will probably be October at the earliest drove me to start searching online four options that don't require surgery. I'll be the first to admit I frequently believe that I have a medical degree that was granted to me by the University of Google.  I fully know that when something's wrong we shouldn't necessarily consult WebMD or other internet favorites because we can come away with some tragic horrible disease when in fact we just have a common cold.

That being said, when I consulted numerous sites there is it definitely a movement in the physical therapy world that recommends a regimen of strengthening exercises that even if they don't help with the meniscus and ACL problems they set me on course for better success after a surgical procedure.   

I came upon several YouTube videos by Jessica Valant specifically designed for physical therapy for meniscus and other knee pain.  Videos demonstrated nothing crazy but rather just simple exercises that if done daily strengthen all the other areas of the knee the quads the hips and other parts of your leg that are designed to relieve the pain. I fully intend to begin these exercises daily to see if I can't strengthen everything else between now and the time we're settled in Fort Myers.  Who knows maybe this will be a solution that makes it so that I don't have to have any surgery at all.  THAT would be fabulous!  While I was surfing around on her YouTube channel and website I found that she has videos covering a broad range of subjects from headache relief & bedtime stretches to body image and of course killer Pilates. I included a link below in case you want to check her out. I found her very motivating and that's what I need.

Jessica Valant Pilates

I am cautiously optimistic that I may be able to start doing something productive. I feel like I've been giving it time to do some healing and allowing the inflammation to go down.  I'll continue to be careful and wear the brace as the doctor recommended. I'm also considering seeking the services of a physical therapist once we get to Florida.

I'll keep you all posted on how things are going - wish me luck!

D9 - Taking Control Of My Own Health

THE FIT BIT TELLS NO LIES

(Fitbit.com)

Today has me thinking about physical health and what that looks like in this new chapter.   I'm a big fan of my Fitbit and I've spent many years using it to help me see trends.  

SLEEP

When it comes to sleep, that's an area I know I do not excel Over the last 12 months my weekly average hours slept is somewhere between 5:15 and 6 hours on a good night.   Often times that average came after days with 7 or 8 hours followed by minimal sleep.  I function exceptionally well on small amounts and feel pretty good.   I'll admit that there were times though when I would get to work and not feel tired until I looked at my sleep score and according to it I didn't sleep well. The power of suggestion immediately made me feel more tired than I was 5 minutes ago.   One of the things I've heard people purport about retirement is not having to get up out of bed if you don't want to and being able to sleep in.  I realize I'm not far enough into this journey but my internal body alarm has me waking up before my work alarm would go off with the expectation that it's time for the day to start.  As time goes on I hope to be able to post a follow-up to this entry to report back on if that's changed.  

STEPS

An area that I prided myself in over the years with my Fitbit is tracking of the number of steps that I take in a day.  My job required me to be on my feet pretty much 70% of the day back and forth across the office helping people which meant I got a crazy amount of steps in every day just in the building.  FULL DISCLOSURE for anyone I'm not coming in contact with personally, back in January I injured my knee, but of course did not go to the doctor because why would I do that LOL.  Life continued on with me having a slight limp and annoying pain until in March when my knee gave out when I was going down the stairs and I slipped.  At first I thought I might have fixed the pain on the inside of my knee because that pain subsided temporarily, until 24 hours later when it not only came back but I also had pain on the outside of my knee. You would think at this point a trip to the doctor would have been in order but as I said before why would I do that LOL.  Fast forward to the middle of April (more pain and limping) and you find me on a walk to the park with my granddaughter.  As I was walking down the sidewalk my knee gave out and I fell forward while carrying her but praise God I was able to protect her and took the complete brunt of the fall myself.  Apparently the third time was the charm and it drove me to the doctor's office to find out what was wrong. Come to find out it appears I have micro tears on both my meniscus and my ACL.  Surgery is definitely in my future, however that's not a possibility until after we get settled in our new home late September.  So ... I have a lovely black brace that restricts my mobility and keeps my knee from giving out.  It won't heal the problem but it should protect it from any additional damage until I can get it repaired.  It does however keep me from walking the number of steps I'm used to taking which used to range between 10,000 and 15000 steps a day. The doctor highly suggested I cut that down in half but when you're trying to prepare for a move that's not always possible.   It's kind of sad though because it used to make me proud of myself when my Fitbit would celebrate when I reached my daily walking goal, now I kind of cringe because I know the doctor wouldn't be pleased.  

HEART RATE/STRESS MANAGEMENT/MINDFULNESS 

The last couple of fun features of my Fitbit that I've been monitoring are the heart rate, stress management and mindfulness tools.  I'm finding not surprisingly that I now have time to practice mindfulness activities which didn't happen previously.  My Stress Management indicators are in the calm and neutral range as opposed to the stressed and very stressed range which was the norm.  But possibly one of the most surprising areas that I hadn't been paying attention to was the trends with my heart rate.   Over the last 12 months my resting heart rate was in the high-70s to mid-80s.  Studies indicate that resting heart rates over 76 can be concerning and an optimal rate is in the low-to-mid 60s.  My results show that in the time since I decided to retire and after making that announcement, my resting heart rate has continued to declined with my high numbers being in the low 70s now.   Definitely moving in the right direction

Clearly there is room for improvement and I think active focus on what that takes will be far easier with a more relaxed lifestyle.  I look forward to being able to participate in outdoor activities, spend time swimming, and just in general having a healthier lifestyle.  Sharing those activities with my mother-in-law and husband will provide me accountability partners.   I'll even post some before and after pictures/statistics so that all of you can be my accountability partners as well.  I congratulate you if you've made it this far in this post and are still reading it.  I'm writing much of this so that I can have base lines over time.  

Good luck and I hope you all stay on journeys that allow you to live a more active, healthy and exciting life.  God Bless.