To Keep Going
I have never been an athletic person. For “athletic” credits in high school we were allowed to count “marching band”. Four years of marching in the fall covered the requirement. My husband and children were all athletically active in high school.
My daughter had some knee pain when playing basketball and we visited an orthopedist who gave her some bedside exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee that was hurting.
My mother suffered from arthritis and for years we kept recommending that she walk regularly rather than sitting in front of the television. Of course, this advice from her daughter was not received very well. It would have been negligent though if I ignored my own advice.
In 2020, before the Covid lock down, I developed a severe pain in one knee. Diagnosis was arthritis and I was given a shot. The shot worked and I was alright for quite a while. Eventually, though it wasn’t as severe as it had been originally, the knee began to ache again.
As a retiree I couldn’t very well ignore the need for exercise. When we were talking about his retirement, my husband and I determined it would be to our benefit to take advantage of the Wellness Center at Olney Family Clinic.
We go three mornings a week and utilize the many pieces of equipment available. Though I still have arthritis in that knee and my hips, strengthening the muscles around the joints with the leg press and elliptical machine I am not in constant pain and I can walk without limping. And I take no pain medication.
My husband’s job for 19 of his 32 years with the local electric cooperative was climbing up and down equipment to run the digger truck, the last 13 years as warehouseman included lifting, manipulating into place the large transformers, bending down to record numbers and climbing stairs to stow materials in the warehouse.
After retirement a local farmer asked my husband to come help load calves for market. Up and down, opening and closing gates as the calves moved into or tried to avoid the trailer, he was quite pleased with his physical performance. Had he not been exercising regularly he probably wouldn’t have handled the activity so well.
Yes it was difficult at first. My first attempt on the elliptical was awful. At the lowest resistance on the machine, I was able to stay on it for only 3 minutes. Since that first day I have increased the time to 15 minutes and I’ve started increasing the resistance.
I still have arthritis in my knee and hips, because of regular exercise it doesn’t restrict me from doing what I want. And though I’ve lost little weight, I’ve been building muscles and it looks like I have lost more weight.
Wellness Center staff is available to help with suggestions when deciding what equipment would benefit you and how to use the controls on those with computers.
Our motto is, “We keep going so we CAN keep going.”