The only thing I can add to this Reuters article on the health benefits of walking is that I walk between three and five miles a day every day, 365 days a year. Having dogs will do that for you.
The only thing I can add to this Reuters article on the health benefits of walking is that I walk between three and five miles a day every day, 365 days a year. Having dogs will do that for you.
I have walked , on a regular basis, since our son’s birth. Not only is it good cardio exercise (that doesn’t put stress on one’s joints), but it also elevates feel-good endorphins​ that can reset a bad day.
Not for me. Every walk is the Sauganash Death March to me. I do it because I’m disciplined not because it makes me feel good.
Dave, after reading your commentaries for years, I can just picture the determination expressed in the body language of your daily walks.
For me, though, after being around people immobilized by their illnesses (via nursing field of work,) I am grateful for the freedom of agile movement and the ability to enjoy fresh air on my face.
FWIW, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at decreased joint pain since I started taking SAMe. I started taking it for mood- I’m prone to depression but didn’t like the feeling of apathy I got from SSRIs. For me the SAMe helps mood as much as the rx did without that side effect, and the joint effect was a plus- when I’ve run out or missed doses, the first thing I notice is joint pain.
At one time or another I’ve tried practically everything you can imagine for my chronic pain. I’m glad SAMe has helped you. It did nothing for me.
Dave,
Have you tried reiki? It can be expensive and it’s new age and awful to hear about, but I’ve heard positive things from people with chronic pain who hate new age in theory.
And yoga if you ignore the bullshit is pretty good. You have to be disciplined and it’s gradual but I can tell the difference in my knees if I’ve been going.
I tried it once. That was enough. It was torture.
Re: SAMe, I think it has to do with genetics- it works for people with methylation defects. Almost certainly for mood that’s the case, but I don’t know the mechanism of action for joints.
Cannabis?
This is speculative and dangerous since I don’t know the first thing about the nature of your ailment, but as a golfer who tore myself up pretty good after years of the effects of a desk job and countless airplane rides I (and others) have found relief in addressing muscle and joint imbalances, changes in geometry and facia impingements. This is not your basic soothing massage or deep tissue massage, but a remedial stretch and strengthen program with facia release to address cumulative issues which have become pathological over the years.
Typical focus areas are of course hip flexors, IT bands, the entire rear body chain from gastrocs to lats and serrators and all associated classic impingement points. Only serious practitioners will do. Initial sessions can be very painful as problem areas are addresses, but as a veteran of spinal nerve compressions I got through them. I suspect you can too.
I personally, and have witnessed others, with chronic low back, hip, knee and ankle issues transformed upon restoration of proper musculoskeletal function, even having tried all types of other solutions. And these are people who have been robbed of their livelihoods by their issues. They aren’t playing around with the local lightly trained “therapist” who hangs out a shingle.
If you are interested I can problem get a name or two in Chicago.