it's been years since I owned a swimsuit
We all know that I've had back trouble for years.
Years and years and years, off and on, since 1986.
Just this last year it has been particularly bad and happening more often.
Last week, I had my lower back x-rayed to make sure there was nothing structural going wrong.
Today, I went back to my doctor to find out what the x-rays showed.
Nothing major, just the usual disc wear and tear consistent with aging, so that's all good.
I also discovered that instead of the usual 5 vertebrae just above the tailbone, I only have four.
Not entirely unheard of, but not too common either.
(I always knew I was special....)
Anyway, doctor L has recommended swimming as a gentle exercise to get the back moving in ways that it doesn't for the rest of the day.
Even if I just use a kickboard to paddle my way up and down the pool until I get fitter and try some actual swimming.
I've always liked being in the water, so I decided I might as well try this.
Tomorrow, I'm going shopping for a swimsuit.
I haven't owned one since I was a size ten, roughly about twelve years ago.
Now of course, I'm quite a bit larger, so instead of just choosing a suit off the rack,
I'm going to have to face those fitting room mirrors and try stuff on.
Oh, the horror!
But in the interests of health, strength and better flexibility, I shall persevere until I find and purchase a suitable suit.
Probably something in the neck-to-knee range.
They still make those, don't they?
Then I'll be heading to the pool and buying a season ticket.
Because that works out cheaper than paying admission every time I go there.
I may even buy my own kickboard.
So I'll have one that everyone else hasn't sneezed on.....
And all of this means I'll be here less often.
I'm sick of the back pain and stiffness, I'm going swimming.
Okay, kickboarding...
Years and years and years, off and on, since 1986.
Just this last year it has been particularly bad and happening more often.
Last week, I had my lower back x-rayed to make sure there was nothing structural going wrong.
Today, I went back to my doctor to find out what the x-rays showed.
Nothing major, just the usual disc wear and tear consistent with aging, so that's all good.
I also discovered that instead of the usual 5 vertebrae just above the tailbone, I only have four.
Not entirely unheard of, but not too common either.
(I always knew I was special....)
Anyway, doctor L has recommended swimming as a gentle exercise to get the back moving in ways that it doesn't for the rest of the day.
Even if I just use a kickboard to paddle my way up and down the pool until I get fitter and try some actual swimming.
I've always liked being in the water, so I decided I might as well try this.
Tomorrow, I'm going shopping for a swimsuit.
I haven't owned one since I was a size ten, roughly about twelve years ago.
Now of course, I'm quite a bit larger, so instead of just choosing a suit off the rack,
I'm going to have to face those fitting room mirrors and try stuff on.
Oh, the horror!
But in the interests of health, strength and better flexibility, I shall persevere until I find and purchase a suitable suit.
Probably something in the neck-to-knee range.
They still make those, don't they?
Then I'll be heading to the pool and buying a season ticket.
Because that works out cheaper than paying admission every time I go there.
I may even buy my own kickboard.
So I'll have one that everyone else hasn't sneezed on.....
And all of this means I'll be here less often.
I'm sick of the back pain and stiffness, I'm going swimming.
Okay, kickboarding...
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I find the worst thing I can do to my ailing body is to sit in front of the PC for hours at a time.. Get out there and have some fun with it.
ReplyDeleteI do own a pair of bathers but whether they would fall apart if I tried putting them on I don't know. I have a chronic back problem too and have constantly been told to at least walk in the pool. Ours is a fair distance away and it would mean MOH having to drive me and cost him to go in as well and the pools always seem to be so busy that it has put me right off the idea. Excuses? Yes probably although in my youth I loved swimming. I hope you really enjoy it and that it gives your poor back some relief.
ReplyDeleteOh, go YOU!!!
ReplyDeleteTempo; that's exactly my problem, along with too much standing and heavy lifting at work. The thing is, I get home, sit down, and then I'm just too tired and achy to get up again. It's become a vicious circle and now it's time to change.
ReplyDeleteMimsie; I have two pools I can get to, but both require a bus trip then another bus for one or the tram for the other. I've chosen the one along the tram route because the season ticket is cheaper and the open season is longer by a month.
Toni; Thanks, I intend to go as often as I can. I hope it will make a positive difference to my general health as well as my back.
Hope it helps.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! Though it has to be a pain transporting a kickboard about on the bus. And surely if everyone sneezes on them, it goes in the water anyway, right?
ReplyDeleteBut it might be nice just to have your own so it is the same one each time and you are used to it.
And you ARE special. In all ways. My friend, Marilyn, who I talk about a big lot, swims laps every single day. Me, no.... I did enough of that when growing up. Next life will be the next time I buy a swim suit. Ha
ReplyDeleteSwimming is good. Backward standing bends are good. Face down on the floor and lifting your head and upper body a few times every day did the trick for me. Sitting upright and straight at the computer chair helped too.
ReplyDeleteA year ago my partner told me to give up speedos and go for board shorts. It is a bit easier for men. In my mind, I looked fine in speedos, but I took the advice.
Oh, you poor thing. I feel your pain. Not the back pain... but the pain of having to try on bathing suits. UGH! I hope you find one without too much anguish, and the swimming gives you relief from the back pain. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi River,
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about it. I wear swimwear even though I looked like a whale in shorts. I'm over caring what people think.
I would post a picture on my own blog but I really don't want people to be ill.
You'll be fine - and you'll have fun too.
:-)
Cheers
PM
Delores; me too. I remember days when I could move freely and I want that back.
ReplyDeleteHappy Elf Mom; true, but if I have my own I can personalise it.
Manzanita; I've never swum a lap in my life. My method is more a splash along until I get there style.
Andrew; the doctor did mention the backward bending too, right before he said that swimming would bend the back in that direction. Speedos should be banned. Shorts for everyone!
Susan; I'm going for something that will hide the jelly belly, like a tankini top with longer leg shorts if I can find it.
Plasman; I'm not concerned what people will think, but I do want to feel comfortable. My biggest worry is will I lose my partial denture in the water. I may have to swim without it and remember not to smile at people....
A friend's brother was had up for Indecent Exposure. How do they figure that, speedos show your old boy anyway.
ReplyDeleteStrolling through Bangkok one night with a group of bods.
"What's with all these massage parlours?" I said. A New Zealander said: "They massage THIS."
Go do it; you have enough enthusiasm to get around without a kickboard, it seems.
ReplyDeleteI've seen pictures of you and I know you will look just fine in a suit! The doctor ordering swimming, it could have been a much worse prescription!
ReplyDeleteOh and P.S. No offense taken on your comment the other day about Ryan, you're like an old friend River!
what a good idea, I haven't been in a pool in years, didn't learn to swim properly until I was in my 30s...wonder if I can find a swimsuit to fit me? lol.
ReplyDeleteR.H. this is why Speedos should be banned. Leave a little something to the imagination and wear swim shorts instead. Please.
ReplyDeleteJoanne; enthusiasm, yes. Stamina? no.
Not yet.
Jennifer Kay; in photos with decent clothes I don't look too bad, but in front of fitting room mirrors, I saw ALL the sagging folds of flab. It was bad! Gravity has taken hold with a vengeance.
So glad you weren't offended.
The Wicked Writer; I never learned to swim properly, I just splash around as best I can. I had terrible trouble today finding a swimsuit, I must have tried on a dozen.
oh I can't swim properly, across the pool (left to right), length ways you can forget it, I don't like heights and I've a hang up about the deep end being a height...and what if I forget to float??? Eh? lol...still afraid of the water, but hey, I think after march I might try it again...there may be no water left in the pool, and some severally tramutised pool guards, but what the hey lol.
ReplyDelete