It may seem that all I do is tout the virtues of exercises for knee health and pre-surgery. Now I have been given a little insight into why it is so important. About 2 weeks ago, I had a scratchy throat that settled there and gave me a bad case of laryngitis and an awful cough. Because of my terrible cough, I went a whole week without going to the pool or to the gym to ride the bike and work-out. I'm pretty sure I would have been asked to leave since I sounded incredibly infectious! Keep in mind that I am continuing my yoga routine and presurgery exercises. Ten days later, I rode the bike and that wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. Some stiffness that took a few revolutions to work out. I tired sooner, but overall not a bad ride since I cut back my minutes to 20 minutes. The next day, my cough was moving all the stuff that had been causing me grief, so I had to stay home and cough and rest between coughs. This past Saturday, I went to the pool. I can do movements in the water that are difficult or not possible on land. Ordinarily, it takes 5 minutes or less to get the ol' joints lubricated and moving without pain. My first day back in the water, it took 25 minutes. I did my usual hour and expected to pay for it later in the day or that night. So far, so good. Then on Sunday, I was incredibly sore and stiff. It took about 4 or 5 hours to work it all out and walking was not fun. Then today, I got in the pool, and it was back to "normal".
So it looks like exercise needs to be consistent, but if I have to miss, I can get back to normal pretty quickly. I noticed today that I was lacking some strength, but I expect I will regain it soon.
By the way, at my medical clearance visit for surgery, my doctor told me to not ignore any infections because of my impending bone surgery. Infection is a big no no for bones. Anyway, I made 2 unnecessary doctor visits for this illness knowing full well it was viral, but I wanted someone else to make that decision. I sure don't want my surgery--which just happens to be 3 weeks from today-- to be canceled because I have a bacterial infection.
Three weeks! Have you gathered the IMPORTANT things? Plenty of reading material? A huge universal remote? Movies you've intended to see in the last 5 years but have missed? Baby wipes? Bottled water? (Read my posts from Scott's accident for THAT explanation!) How about an extra battery for your phone? Those stretchy exercise bands? We found those to be pretty indispensable in pre-physical therapy days. Praying for your bones and the bone-guru working on you! Love you much!
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