Tuesday 14 May 2019

Keeping active

Keeping active when one has arthritis is very important - in fact vital.  If  the arthritis happens to be in feet, knees and ankles it is easier still to decide to sit around.   But I know from bitter experience that it does no good at all.  An hour of movement followed by a sit down with one's feet up is the answer so that is what I try to do.   The lady who now walks my dog has rung to say she will take Tess today when it gets a bit cooler - so I don't have to worry.   Tess has already had her morning walk and is now laid out in the sun on the patio.

As my daughter in law has a special birthday today we are going our for a celebratory meal this evening, so no need to bother with food either.   So I shall take a chair out onto the patio, sit in the sun and read my book (Austerlitz by W G Sebald)- enjoy the sun if you are lucky enough to have it where you are - it isn't set to last long.

14 comments:

Derek Faulkner said...

Re. your last blog, what is your obsession with ironing, it's such an ancient chore and waste of energy, who bloody notices anyway. I agree fully with your comment that arthritis is helped by keeping on the move, it's certainly something that I've noticed, well done you for keeping as mobile as you can.

JayCee said...

Enjoy the sun, and the celebration meal this evening.

Heather said...

The past few days have been so lovely and I have enjoyed having all the windows open to let the warm air through the flat. I have a short walk every day and feel better for it even if I do sit down and read the newspaper as soon as I get back! I don't think I have arthritis though I do have very stiff knees and have found that doing a bit then sitting down throughout the day helps me keep going.
Enjoy your family celebrations and lets hope it doesn't get too cold again.

Derek Faulkner said...

The weather isn't always about dates, it's how it feels and today feels like summer and that's good enough.

Gwil W said...

The doctor who did my atheroscopy more than 20 years ago told me to keep moving. So I do. And I think it has paid off. Mrs G says when I clear the dinner things off the table I should fetch the tray and carry them all to the kitchen in one go. No. That's not the way I tell her. It's what people used to call the lazy man's load. Instinctively I much prefer to make two or three journeys to the kitchen and back. We can build a lot of movement into our lives with such little tricks. When you take your chair onto the patio and go back for your book and go back for a cuppa or a glass of water and then go back for your glasses it mounts up . . . people might think I'm nuts. So what. Maybe they're right.

DUTA said...

It goes without saying that keeping active is important. In my experience, however, the only thing that usually helps with feet and knees is keeping one's bodyweight normal to low. This is not easy at any age, as one has to carefully plan the meals, resist temptations, and reduce eating out. But it's rewarding - ease of moving, seldom any pain, no need for meds.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Derek - Ironing is purely a matter of choice and I choose to do it. I have always prided myself on being as immaculately dressed as I can be and I don't intend to lower my personal standards just because of my age.

Gwil. I don't think you are nuts - I do exactly the same. One of the reasons I prefer my laptop in my computer room to a tablet or ipad is that I have no wish to sit on the settee and read my e mails - this way I have to get up, go to thecomputer room and log on the old fashioned way. It is all exercise.

DUTA agree about weight and arthritis - I still weigh the same as when I married my dear farmer twenty five years ago - I weigh myself every Sunday morning and if I have gained a little I eat sparingly until I have lost it again.

Terra said...

Keeping active is key to being able to keep being active. Ha ha. True though. That's why you and I must thank our dogs for making our walks more enjoyable.

the veg artist said...

I often have a bad back, due to an old injury, and sitting still for too long always makes it ache more. Bad bones are no joke!

Bonnie said...

You are so right about keeping active. I have arthritis and always do better when I keep moving. Enjoy the birthday celebrations tonight!

Joanne Noragon said...

Still waiting for the sun here. Tomorrow should be warmer.

Cro Magnon said...

Yes, lovely here too. Billy (our puppy) even went indoors as it was too hot for him!

Librarian said...

You said it, keeping active makes all the difference. I have a desk job and simply need to walk as much as I can in order to feel good and keep the back aches etc. at bay.
As for ironing, I just enjoy it as a form of doing something with my hands as opposed to working with my mind. Also, I like my clothes crease free, and to slip into a freshly made bed with ironed sheets is heaven!

thelma said...

Pat you have got me on the top of blogs in big red letters ;) look further down and you will see my blog there, Poems, Paintings and Photos. Thanks for the publicity, but to be quite honest had too much publicity on my last blog on Northstoke.
And as for ironing kept to the barest minimum, but walk from table to kitchen lots, always jumping up to do things but still put on weight.