Progress: Energy

I noticed yesterday how my whole leg often retains fluid so that it’s visibly fatter than the other. So I began working on avoiding situations that promoted that kind of swelling. For example, when sitting at my computer I cannot simply rest the foot on the floor, but elevate the leg at least up near hip level. While this also promotes temporary stiffness, that’s easy to overcome. I’ve also been using my old Swedish vibrator on the whole leg.

A few days ago things got to the point where I realized my calf and most of my quadriceps felt like torn muscles. It’s not important to dig into why, but it did indicate directions for treatment to progress. That means the old three-finger penetrating rub across the most sensitive muscle fibers, followed up with that vibrator. I’m also enlarging the places where I rub in the comfrey root tincture to include the muscles that hurt most.

Finally, I’m also including a few periods of resting on my back with feet propped up rather high.

The other thing was that I’ve actually moved beyond the prescribed physical therapy exercises. Anyone with experience in fitness, who reads some of the exercise physiology stuff, can figure out what the therapy exercises are meant to do. So it got to the point those exercises were piddly, and I started pushing back into my hard training movements, but adding motions that extend the effect of the therapy exercises.

And while it has been coming on slowly for a a couple of weeks, this morning the urge to get my butt into gear was a palpable twitch. Now I actually feel like working out, and hard. I’m taking the time to walk more strenuously and thinking through the natural motion so that the leg re-learns normal walking. Sometimes I’ll do high-knee lifts and allow the lower leg to dangle against the stiffness that resists bending the knee. At times I’ll stop and do some squatting, stopping when the knee starts to hurt. There is a sticking point around the 90° angle, but once or twice it has nudged just past it.

I still have a ways to go, but it’s progress.