Exercise and the Writer's Body

You already know the value of regular exercise, but I’m going to explain how exercise has been so good for this particular writer’s body.

In late 2009, my hands stopped working effortlessly.

Simple things I’d done my whole life hurt, badly.

I couldn’t turn doorknobs without pain.

Scissors were a nightmare.

I could no longer hold a needle well enough to sew.

Forget weeding for more than a few minutes.

Hand brakes on the bicycle were impossible.

My hands–the one part of my body I had thanked God for many times– had become an enemy.

The doctor tried tendonitis remedies.

No luck.

Months of physical therapy made little difference.

Indeed, the only thing that made the pain go away was two weeks of vacation in Europe–but my husband said I couldn’t just live there the rest of my life.

What on earth had happened to me?

The specialist tossed up the x-rays, shook his head and pronounced his verdict in a cold hard voice: arthritis at the base of both thumbs. No cure. Good day.

Dismissed in a mere five minutes, I left in tears.

My self-worth was in tatters.

I bought thumb guards, calling them my “mitts,” and wore them every night.

I bought an electric can opener for the first time. I bought other hand-easing tools for my kitchen.

I read up on arthritis and started taking B-6 for my joints, not to mention glucosamine.

Thank God I could still type and sort-of play my clarinet. But what about the rest of my resourcefulness?

I wasn’t ready to become a memsahib with servants (nor could I afford them beyond the house cleaner to make the bed).

I determined I would be positive about this situation.

My life as I’d lived it might be over, but there was plenty I could still be thankful for: I could walk, swim, pay a kid to work in the yard, buy clothes.

The kitchen adaptable tools gave me hope.

The unexpected relief.

While I’ve walked an hour a day, four to five days a week for 28 years, walking was no longer enough for weight control.

So, on 1/11/11, I followed a friend’s lead and joined a health club.

I needed to lose weight but I also wanted to move more–I was starting to feel stiff all the time from sitting at the computer.

This gym had a Zumba class, along with other fitness classes.

I started dancing at 6 am, five mornings a week.

Two days a week we lifted weights in the exercise class.

I wore my mitts–I could not compromise what little was left of my hands with a heavy weight.

(Four and a half years later, I still only lift five pound weights max; but I don’t wear my mitts anymore.)

Within a year, my hands didn’t hurt as much.

I didn’t flinch at turning doorknobs.

I could cut paper with scissors again–I didn’t need the adapting tool.

Sewing is still problematic; but I haven’t tried a bike again.

I can pick up a 4.5 bag of sugar with one hand now, but I usually use two.

What made the difference?

All we can figure is exercise, that dancing, has caused the fluids to move into my hands.

I think it’s the movement, the blood flow and the activity.

Because while I walked religiously before, (and still walk several days a week) I didn’t use my hands when I walked.

The only difference between now and 2009 is the weights and the arm movements while I dance.

Arthritis in the thumbs, hopefully, will never afflict you.

Tendonitis may be a part of the writer’s life (I still struggle with aching forearms if I’m not careful).

Writers spend hours sitting at our desks; but we need to keep moving for our hands, our bodies and our minds–not to mention our creativity!

I’m so grateful for the difference exercise has made in my quality of life, and for that reason  I’ll be dancing and exercising as long as possible.

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