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Sherrine- question about how you work

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Posted 5/26/2015 11:25 PM (GMT -5)
Hi Sherrine,
I asked this question on another thread but not sure if you saw it. You wrote about your method of working (stretching, hot showers,etc.)

My question was this: Sherrine.... can you be more specific when you say that when you hurt after working you will 'work them out'? Also, how do you stretch before doing things and after? What kind of stretches do you do? How specifically do you pace yourself? Do you work a specific amount of time and then rest a specific amount of time? I don't have a clear picture of how a person uses stretching to work longer and smarter.

Thanks so much!
Posted 5/27/2015 2:43 PM (GMT -5)
Grammy, I do multiple things to help myself. I stretch a lot. If I'm sitting in a chair watching TV I will lay my torso over my lap and let my hands and head hang down. This stretches the back muscles, the arms, shoulders and neck. And it feels really good to me.

I try to keep flexible. I never stopped doing things because of pain. It might take me a little longer to do things and sometimes I figure out ways around fibro, but I keep living my life pretty much the way I always have. For example, in my shower stall I have a ledge that is two feet off the ground. I stand on one leg and put my other foot on the ledge to shave my leg and then I reverse legs. That's high and stretches my leg muscles...especially since I'm only 5'1 1/2" tall. When I was hit with ankylosing spondylitis and sacroiliitis and had "raw" nerve pain going down both legs, I continued to do this. Yes, it hurt like the dickens but I wanted to keep my muscles as flexible as possible. I got help for the nerve pain and am still using that ledge. The flexibility helps keep me from falling, too.

I stretch before getting out of bed. I stretch my legs out straight with my toes pointed and then I bring my legs up into the fetal position. I stretch my arms and hands as if I'm reaching for something just out of my reach. Then I sit up and lay across my lap like I mentioned above. THEN I will get out of bed and walk. I'm not nearly as stiff or have as much pain this way.

I'm basically stretching many times throughout the day. Yesterday I had a bone scan and they had me lying on the table on my left side with a firm cushion under my waist with my back against an x-ray plate. I have a curved spine that curves to the right. It makes my right shoulder lower than my left when I look in the mirror. Anyway, they were having me lay in a position that was opposite to the direction of my spine. I did make it through it and trying to sit up was difficult. Then the muscle spasms started. So I sat on the edge of the table and stretched sideways...both ways....until the muscles calmed down. The nurse had to wait for me but she was a lovely person and realized the pain I was having. By the time I got to my car, I was fine again.

Pacing is more an individual thing. Some people can work longer than others. There is no set time. In the beginning I would work about 15 minutes and then sit down and take a 10 minute break. I usually got on the computer. Then I would head back to doing what I was doing and take another break. When cleaning the house I would choose one or two rooms to do in a day and pick a couple of others the next day. I didn't try to clean the whole house in one day.

This past month my daughter and I worked together at both her house and my house and laid 130 bags of mulch. I couldn't pace myself because I didn't want my daughter doing this all by herself...which she definitely would do. So we worked shoulder to shoulder one day for over 6 hours and finished it the next day. I was totally exhausted BUT I knew I would be having my gentle massage in three more days. Yay! When I say my massage therapist she said she wanted to slap me. LOL She was upset because I had knots all over my body, including my feet, from what I did but she uses trigger point therapy and massage and worked over my body, I went home and drank water all day to get rid of the toxins she loosened, and was back to feeling well two days later.

I hope this gives you some idea as how to use stretching and pacing to help yourself. I can do far more than I could many years ago. Living with this illness and finding ways to help myself has brought me to this point.

Lastly, I'm extremely motivated. I'm a widow, love my home and my gardens and, if I don't keep moving and staying flexible, I won't be able to take care of my home and gardens. I would have to sell my home and possibly move into assisted living which is the LAST thing I want for my life. So I keep on keeping on and thank God for helping me do what I need to do to live in my home and enjoy my life.

Sherrine
Posted 5/27/2015 4:44 PM (GMT -5)
Hi Sherrine,
Yes, that was extremely helpful and easy to understand. You gave me a very good picture of how you work and use the stretching to help you throughout the day.

I do have another question. I hope you don't mind. :-)

Why do you choose stretching instead of say... for instance... laying down? Does the stretching help prevent muscle spasms from working the muscle too long?

I find that my muscles 'burn' when I stand on my feet and work too long. If I don't sit down and rest then the burning ends up in a bad fatigue that I have a hard time recovering quickly from. Does the stretching help the muscle 'burn' to leave?

Thanks, Sherrine! You are a treasure!
Posted 5/27/2015 5:03 PM (GMT -5)
Remember, I gave an example is stretching while sitting down. I don't stretch non-stop. Just when I feel muscles tightening. I do plenty of sitting but I also do plenty of walking, doing chores, etc. I set reachable goals for myself each day.

Lying down causes me more pain if I stay lying down for long periods of time. Sometimes I will lie down for about 20 minutes but I don't nap very often because then I can't get to sleep at night. But sometimes, if my back is really hurting, I will lie down for a few minutes and then sit up and stretch it out. This works for me.

If you are standing on your feet so long that your muscles start burning then you aren't pacing yourself. If my back or legs start hurting that is a signal to sit down and rest for a short time. Then I can go back and finish what I was doing.

I think stretching keeps the muscles "looser". When muscles tighten up they can spasm. Just watch athletes. They always stretch before going out and using their muscles and many times they stretch after using them. You can see baseball players warming up to either bat or pitch and the you will see some stretching in the dugout.

Sherrine
Posted 5/27/2015 5:06 PM (GMT -5)
Your example of athletes stretching before and after their work out was a perfect picture showing why it's important to stretch before/during/after you work. Thank you so much. I learn so much from you and others on this board!
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