First, thanks to all who have commented on my Half Wisdom, Half Whimsy, Half Wit post. There have been many words of encouragement and some suggestions. All of the comments are appreciated.
And no, I don’t think it’s approval I seek SonoranSon. I seek more readers. I don’t write this blog strictly for myself. Never have.
Which brings me to Ephraim, who said he sees me “as a shut-in who surfs the web all day.” I thought that was an interesting remark when I read it yesterday morning — two people actually sent me emails yesterday criticizing Ephraim. Even if I do spend too much time in front of the computer, in the past six months I’ve also been to Tucson four times, Denver twice, Washington and San Francisco, a concert and a one-man show, a handful of movies, baseball and soccer games, and have tentative plans for camping in Yellowstone and Sequoia this summer and visiting Europe this fall. I don’t even have cable TV. I’m hardly a shut-in. But Ephraim’s thing appears to be to try and get a rise out of me, so I let it go.
Except I didn’t know Ephraim had voodoo powers. Here I sit Friday with crutches by my side and a posterior splint on my left ankle — pretty much a shut-in. Seems I have developed a nasty case of tendinitis (brought about most likely by arthritis). Out of the blue. No signs of it before Wednesday and today I needed an injection for pain. (And I nearly assaulted the doctor who kept asking, “Does this hurt?”)
You’ve got my attention now Ephraim!
Ken,
Two points:
1) You need to read ALL the words of my posts.
2) This is the best advice you’ll EVER get:
Get to a gym. I recommend the Healthplex. Do an hour of cardio and half an hour of strength training five days a week. See Mary there and she’ll design a regimen just for you. Tell her I sent you.
Booga booga
Yes, because EVERYONE knows how important cardio IS to healing tendonitis.
1) I’m glad you’ve finally come to REALIZE the evil of Ephraim (I WAS way ahead OF you on THIS one).
2) I hope you FEEL better! 🙁
3) You are far, FAR from a shut in. You’re retired, so YOU have time to spend on the INTERNET, but that is HARDLY all you do.
4) I don’t recommend telling ANYONE, anywhere that Ephraim “sent you.”
Although I seriously disagree with Ephraim’s politics, methods of agitation, and that the NewMexiKen is a shut-in, I do agree with his recommendations regarding going to the gym, ESPECIALLY the cardio workout. The benefits of cardio workouts are far greater than the superficial conclusion that most come to. The hormone balance, the oxygenation of the blood and brain, and the strength gain all help balance the body. If you are doing a cardio workout, you must be doing something that is stressing the muscles.
It is not just about spending time on the internet, it is about sitting for extended periods. Surely you do that whether at your desk, on a plane, at a concert or theater, or in the car.
Prolonged sitting will cause all or some of the following:
tight hip flexors, hamstrings, calves, tightness through the external hip rotators, which can cause anterior femoral head positioning in the acetabulum and subsequent restriction in hip joint range, limitation of lumbar spine extension – particularly through the lumbosacral junction
stiff thoracic spine, protracted and elevated scapulas with weak lower trapezius and serratus anterior, tight and weak posterior rotator cuff
poked chin posture with associated weak deep neck flexors and overactive upper trapezius, levator scapula and rhomboid muscles.
What happens when parts of your body get out of position is that other parts try to compensate and this can lead to issues such as tendonitis in the ankle, or other parts of the body.
Kundalini yoga or Chi Gung my friend ALONG WITH SOME CYCLING!
I’d better do some internet research on this. 🙂
Ephraim’s off the hook. The ankle is still quite tender, and sore, but not what I’d call painful anymore. I should break out of my shut-in status later today.
Half Wisdom, Half Whimsy, Half Wit, Ephraim. The trick is always finding where I am in the equation. 😉