Professional Patient

I Will Not Give Up My Workout

Exercise is essential to managing the fatigue and pain that can accompany chronic illness. For me, it's absolutely critical because I have hypermobile joints (they are too loose and floppy). Keeping the muscles around my joints strong is essential to keeping my body upright and balanced (literally). If I miss workouts, my joints get loose, my muscles overwork themselves, and I wind up with horrible muscle cramps. 

Today I had a typical situation - I had already run an errand and been to the doctor. I had 3 afternoon hours in which to (a) pick up some medication for my dog OR (b) work out and then rest afterwards. I talk to myself a lot (sometimes just in my head, sometimes out loud while I'm alone in the car). And I surprised myself - the little voice in my head said quite clearly today "I WILL NOT give up my workout." 

All too often, we treat exercise as something optional, something less important than work and errands and chores. So practice saying this with me: "I will NOT give up my workout." Who knows when you may need to use that in conversation with a real person (or during an internal debate). If you practice saying it now, when there's no one around to disappoint, it will come more easily the next time you (or someone else) is trying to talk you out of your workout and into doing something less important.

Tai Chi (or Chai Tea?)

I am in love with tai chi. Often called "the dance of life," tai chi is a graceful martial art that evolved as a form of self-defense in China more than 2,000 years ago. You might have seen it in the movie Calendar Girls with Hellen Mirren, or in a commercial for prescription pain medication. It looks like dancing in slow motion. I'm learning the so-called Yang short form. You can view a sample video of this kind of tai chi on YouTube.

I have been taking tai chi for all of 9 weeks now, meeting in an overheated dance studio with a small group of pregnant ladies, older adults, and injured middle-aged people. We are quite a rag-tag bunch, that's for sure. We sweat and groan and try to make it look easy, but it's certainly not!

My husband and friends have been giving me endless grief over taking this course. My husband loves to say "have fun at yoga!" every time I head to class. To him, all non-western, girly forms of exercise are one and the same. He also likes to ask if I'm having chai tea at my tai chi class (it's a tongue twister, get it?). Arrgh. And many so called friends have told me I look like I have a dirty diaper when I do my tai chi. Great, thanks a lot guys!

In spite of the grief I'm getting, I continue with tai chi because it's a really great form of exercise for someone like me who has low back and neck pain. Tai chi is often called a "gentle" form of exercise because it involves slow movements performed while standing with bent knees (so it's low-impact). But DO NOT confuse "gentle" with "easy" -- tai chi requires seriously strong leg and hip muscles, and gives your upper body a workout, too. Every time you change direction in tai chi, you move by turning your hips and feet, rather than by twisting your spine. And tai chi encourages you to keep your upper body quite erect, spine straight, head held high and level. These qualities make it particularly good exercise for anyone who has had portions of their spine fused (fusion restricts the motion of your spine, so upright, erect exercise is easiest).

Tai chi operates on the premise that there is chi, or life energy, flowing around us. The movements of tai chi draw that energy up from the soil and into/through our bodies. So some people who practice tai chi say they have more energy after a tai chi class, because they have drawn more chi into their bodies. I don't know if I believe that, but I do notice that tai chi perks me up, mentally and physically. I enjoy tai chi because the movements feel familiar to my body, even though I had never tried them before this class. There are poses that make me think of a bird flapping its wings, poses that make me think of a baseball pitcher coiling up to deliver a pitch, and poses that make me feel like the Karate Kid, blocking the blows of an invisible opponent. Fortunately, I haven't had to balance on a post by the sea yet. (That's a Karate Kid reference, for any youngsters out there who might not know the movie.)

What I enjoy the most about tai chi, above all, is that it's helping my body and I work together for a change. I've had so much neck pain and physical weakness since surgery over a year ago that my body and I have more often been enemies than friends. Tai chi seems to be something that brings us together and makes us feel like a strong unit. Thank heavens. I think my rehab from the neck surgery won't be complete until my body and I are fast friends again, so tai chi is a step in the right direction.

There are many forms of tai chi, with the yang short (24-) form being the one most often taught to beginners. Try one on for size, and see if it works for you.

Related Resources:
"Tai chi," from the Arthritis Foundation's Arthritis Today, online.

"Tai chi: Improved stress reduction, balance, agility for all", from the Mayo Clinic website.

"Taijiquan 24 Movements Short Form," from the Valley Spirit Taijiquan website, offers a wealth of resources about the yang short form of tai chi.

Stay Tuned... PT Is Kicking My Tushie

Almost one month into physical therapy, I am EXHAUSTED in a way I didn't think was possible. In addition, I am two weeks into an introductory tai chi class, which is also making me tired. And my private long-term disability insurance company (Unum Provident) is forcing me to apply for Social Security Disability Income. So I am up to my eyeglasses in paperwork.

I'll write more soon...promise! Please stay tuned.

The Joy of My Body In Motion (At Last)

I am officially 1 year past the massive neck surgery that ground my life to a temporary halt. And my doc finally has allowed me to start physical therapy. So I had my first real PT session today! And I couldn't be happier.

For most people, PT = physical therapy = personalized torture. It's about as fun as having a cavity filled. And there is a kernel of truth in there. Your physical therapy should be customized to your needs and overall fitness level (i.e., personalized). And it should be difficult (i.e., torture). You have to really challenge muscles to get them to grow and recover.

But for me PT is about freedom. The fabulous freedom to turn my head side to side, move my shoulders, rev up my heart rate (just a little), breathe harder, sweat a little more. After a year of being told not to do these things, it's great to get back into my own body and see what it can do.

Recovering from a big surgery is often about being still so bones and tissues can grow back together and your body can recover from the physical shock of anesthesia. Surgeons often send patients home from the hospital with a list of activity restrictions: don't lift your arms above your head, don't run, don't bend, etc. But the human body cannot really thrive under such limitations. A body in motion stays in motion, while a body resting on the couch eventually gets weaker and sicker.

Inviting your body to move and get stronger is a critical part of recovering from surgery or major illness. Today in PT, I couldn't stop smiling, even when the exercises got really tiring. It felt great to ask my body to do something again, to work hard and be challenged. Many people getting ready for PT worry that it's going to be excruciatingly painful and gut-wrenchingly hard. But they may be surprised to find that PT/exercise can significantly reduce pain, increase your energy level, and elevate your mood. Which is why I'm still grinning like a fool, an hour after my PT session ended.

When illness/surgery has made you very weak and tired, it's easy to just let your body be (be on the couch, be in the bed, be resting in the recliner, etc.). But under the care of a physician and/or physical therapist, you might want to consider adding a little physical activity into your day. Give your body a small challenge and see how it responds. Studies have shown, for example, that rheumatoid arthritis patients experience reduced pain and fatigue when they exercise regularly. (see abstract for "Predictors of exercise and effects of exercise on symptoms, function, aerobic fitness, and disease outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis").

Even if you aren't in it for the health benefits, exercise/movement can provide wonderful emotional/spiritual benefits, too. In chronic illness, we are often at war with our bodies, and can become so familiar with the bad side of our bodies (the exhaustion, the pain, etc.) that we miss the good stuff. We don't spend much time just enjoying our bodies and celebrating their inherent magic. So dance, wiggle your butt, do a little tai chi, stretch, have sex, exercise... get to know how great your body can feel when it's in motion. Because it will feel great. And you deserve that!