Checking in

[wyldbutterflies]

Had a rest day yesterday, so didn't post a check in. But the rest day was filled with shopping, so I did a little walking, I suppose.

Today was much more productive. I did some balance ball crunches - about 40 or so. I also managed my hula dancing (Island Girl videos aka Kili will kill your arms and knees) which is a 40 minute or so set. I was going to tackle the other cardio hula (aka 'uwehe and kawelu hell) I have but I am still babying this shoulder injury. I am so impatient with it at times. How long should it take to heal?? Of course it would affect the arm I use the most...I am right handed.

I weighed in today - it seems I have lost two pounds. Huzzah! My current goal is to be under a BMI of 38 (235 lbs). And I am so close!! But we'll see how my weight fluctuates throughout the week...as it tends to do. I aim for small goals because that way, I am almost guaranteed to reach them whereas a large goal leaves me feeling a bit depressed if I don't reach it soon enough.

I have also noticed that I may need to find a tailor for my clothes when I am in Japan - all the articles of clothing I bought for the winter months might have to be taken in if I keep this up!

But today, I got nice and sweaty! Tomorrow I hope to incorporate both hula dances into my workout like I used to before the shoulder problem.

Comments

[muck_a_luck]

Nice! Hula dancing, eh? That sounds like it has potential!

Small goals are good. And that would be a great reason to need a tailor!

[wyldbutterflies]

It really works the legs and abs. And it is fun, which keeps me motivated to do it. Next, I want to try belly-dancing, but I am not quite brave enough yet. :)

[muck_a_luck]

Belly dancing is really fun. And what's to be brave about? It's just you and the DVD player, right? Also, seriously, consider Bollywood Dance Workout. I loved it! I have it out again from teh library right now, and it's on my schedule for tomorrow. She has a bunch of titles, but I haven't tried any of the others yet.

[carolyn_claire]

If it's a cuff injury, it may take weeks or months to heal. Listen to the pain and go carefully.

Hula dancing! There's another fun-sounding movement option--I'm picking up the best ideas on this comm. :)

Go you with the weight loss! Shop-walking counts--all walking does, and any time on your feet helps. I've read about how people can counteract the effects of traditionally sedentary desk jobs by converting to standing work stations and spending as much of the day on their feet as possible. Even if we get in an hour of exercise per day, exercise logging programs often consider holders of desk jobs as sedentary when categorizing; one enters one's exercise time manually, rather than using the "active" category for one's lifestyle/metabolism. The more time on one's feet during that eight hour work day (or weekend), the better!

[wyldbutterflies]

I am not sure if it is a cuff injury or not. What I do know is that I can lift my arm, bend it behind my back and hold it out to the side. But crossing my arm over my body is ow. Not screaming back, but almost a soreness and ache that stops me dead in my tracks. Most of the feeling of "pain" comes from the front of my shoulder.

But I am trying to give it all the time it needs.

This comm is great for ideas!! I am learning so many new things that I could do if I ever get bored with what I am doing now. And with me, boredom kills my motivation badly.

[carolyn_claire]

My doctor diagnosed mine by holding my arm, straight out, in one hand and putting the other on my shoulder and having me move the arm around and push a little against her resistance. She said I wasn't even using the cuff much but was compensating with other muscles, which is a sign of cuff damage. Can you see someone to get it diagnosed? If I'd followed her advice and gotten it scanned/gotten PT back when it happened (months ago) it wouldn't be frozen, now. Early intervention is good.

[carolyn_claire]

I need to keep it fun to keep it going, too, which is hard with chronic pain, so something like hula, which would have me smiling all the way through, would be perfect. :)

[just_ann_now]

all the articles of clothing I bought for the winter months might have to be taken in if I keep this up!

Yippee! Go you!

When I was researching belly dancing as exercise, one of the things that was mentioned was the upper body strength required for the arm movements. Sounds like the same is true of the hula. Interesting.

[wyldbutterflies]

I hadn't though of upper body strength as being integral. That is very interesting. But I know that with the hula, it works the arms pretty good. I mean, even into the cool down they have you hold your arms up for at least 10 minutes!

I have thought about belly dancing and may give it a go later - I am just not brave enough for that yet. :)

[muck_a_luck]

Oh, yeah. There are whole belly dance videos on arms, and you will feel the burn! But if you already do arms for hula, maybe the belly dance will just seem much the same.

[rydra_wong]

I am so impatient with it at times. How long should it take to heal??

What bit of the shoulder is affected? If it's a simple strain in one of the bigger muscles, it should heal relatively fast with rest (and ice, etc.).

If it's a rotator cuff injury then, as carolyn_claire said, it will take a lot longer to heal. It may need a bit of rehab (simple exercises you can do on your own) to ensure that it goes completely and doesn't become a long-running problem.

[wyldbutterflies]

It's the front, near where the shoulder meets the clavicle, but I can also feel it in the side of my bicep. It's not pain, per se, just a lingering achey soreness that stops movement quick. It only really hurts when I have to cross my arm over my body. It doesn't bother me to hold it out to the side, front or up...just across the body.

I would expect that if it were a rotator cuff that it would hurt a lot worse and that my movements would be extremely limited. So, I suspect a strain. Problem is that I am right handed and I have to use it.

[carolyn_claire]

I was able to make most of those movements, too; there are only certain ones, involving a bent arm, that I couldn't (and still can't) do. It makes a difference where in the cuff the injury is as to what movements one can make without pain. Pain that's also felt in the upper arm is another symptom of a cuff injury. There's a lot of Googleable info on shoulder/cuff injuries; I learned a lot (a bit too late) by looking it up.