For over a decade now, I’ve been accustomed to screwing myself up every summer. I spend the school year focused on teaching stuff (and being snowbound much of the time), and then when I’m released in May, I leap into action and overdo it, and then every summer I can guarantee I’ll spend a month or two laid up with a knee or ankle or both wrecked. I’ve got crutches and braces set aside just in case. You don’t see most of it because you’re seeing me through the teeny-tiny porthole of the internet.
But not this year, so far (knock on wood). I’ve changed my behavior. I started out with a leisurely walk for 40 minutes to an hour every single day — every day is the key, I think. Easing into my summer routine is helping, and now I’m ramping up into a brisk walk. No pain yet! Actually, I’m feeling pretty good. Maybe I’m doing something right.
Another factor: I’m not teaching this fall, which has removed an amazing amount of stress from my life. I can’t actually separate the physical from the psychological.
Anyway, that means that right now I am compelled to get out of the house and go for a walk. Bye!
There was some New Yorker article a while ago that cited a study of the skeletons of people from 1800’s which found that while many had signs of traumatic joint injuries (one side or joint only, kicked by a horse or something) there was much less generalized arthritis suggesting that when people had to do a lot of walking everyday it was protective of the joints.
found a reference:
https://www.wbur.org/news/2017/08/14/skeleton-study-arthritis-harvard
So, get a dog?
or take The Cat for a walk.
Watch out spiders! P.Z. is on the prowl!
I use walking poles – they take some of the load off your legs and allow you to use your upper body more when walking. This increases the amount of energy consumption while reducing wear and tear on the knees. In addition, they can prevent a fall.
bcw bcw
Or they just died at younger ages.