This week has been about finding things to keep active and distract from my pain!

I imagine we are all doing things that we haven’t done for a long time whether it’s reading that book you’ve had on the go for the last six months or finishing a project you started ages ago always meaning to finish when you had the time. I found myself with an overwhelming urge to bake a cake, Something I used to do often when my children were all living at home, but I have avoided in recent years because of my weight loss goals. I love baking however and decided it will be worth gaining a pound or two during lockdown to flex my withering baking muscles just a little!

The result was a delicious Raspberry Jam & Custard Layer Cake I had never made before. Next on my ‘to bake’ list is a Chocolate & Vanilla Marble Cake; I will let you know next week how that goes.

My knee pain persists but is getting better gradually, I have had to be strict with myself though, making sure I do my physio exercises daily, and when resting I have used a heat pack on it which is great. I know the exercises will pay off in pain relief but sometimes it is extremely hard to apply yourself even when you know it will help.

Karen and I try and do a short local walk every day which usually includes 195 steps and is a big help to my knee, they are not big steps fortunately and I use walking poles which are a big help. Our daily walk is so important for physical and mental wellbeing.

My Covid19 emotional rollercoaster keeps on going up and down and I really wish I could stop and get off; I am sure I am not alone in that! Today I found myself wishing I could spend time with my children and grandchildren and hug them, we all understand the reasons we must stay at home and not mix with anyone we don’t live with but it’s not easy. We are all I am sure very aware of those less fortunate than ourselves, but it doesn’t make our hearts ache any less for the things we miss or have lost. It must be a type of national indeed global grief! We know that pain often increases when we are grieving so it’s important to try and focus every day on the good and positive things in our lives. When I feel especially low, I go outside into the garden and breath deeply, listen to the birds, feel the breeze on my face, the sunshine on my skin, take in the aroma of nature! I believe they call it being mindful, it certainly helps me to feel better. If your in total isolation try sitting in an open window.

I also set about making masks for myself and the family to wear when shopping which served as a distraction and also helped me to feel empowered, I was doing something to help minimise the risk when out in public.

I’ll let you decide if I look like a highwaywoman  😄

Look after yourselves !

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It’s been an unusual week for me this week! My emotions have been up and down and in turn so has my pain!  My wife Karen & I spent 4 days delivering leaflets for our local Covid19 emergency response team.

We were mindful of all the precautions and wore gloves the whole time and although it was stressful, we had a purpose and that helped enormously! We have embarked upon a new challenge from The Ramblers called #RoamSweetHome, you pick a challenge from their website, ours is Mont Blanc, and you endeavour to complete the challenge of doing a long distance track or a mountain within your home and garden and/or on your local daily walk for exercise!

The leafleting saw us walk almost 20 miles (locally) and achieve 84,541 steps and 135 flights towards our goal! Great excuse to be out walking for longer.

The whole time we were out walking and delivering leaflets I wasn’t aware of my pain, but the minute we stopped my knee started to stiffen and the pain began to increase. This reinforces the power of distraction in pain management; find something you enjoy doing that will take your mind off the pain or at least shift the focus from dead center to the side.

I imagine we are all going through a range of emotions during this uncertain time in all our lives and that has an impact on how we are experiencing pain!

While I am busy it’s easy to forget that we are in the midst of a global pandemic, but turn on the news and the shocking truth is right there. I’ve been quite upset at times this week, I doubt I’m alone in that! One minute I’m quite happy in the garden or on a local walk, the next I’m missing my grandchildren and have an overwhelming urge to cuddle them close, then I feel guilty for those thoughts because I know I am a lot luckier than some, people who are living in high rise blocks or in total isolation. I have shed tears about the massive loss of life too and I know that all these emotions are perfectly normal even if some of them are unwelcome and unwanted.

I think it’s very important that during Covid19 we try to be kind to ourselves, recognise that we are on a bit of an emotional roller coaster and that it will affect our pain but that it WILL pass, and until it does we need to find pleasure in the things we can enjoy at home, or on a local walk if that is an option for us and the more often we can do this the better our pain will be controlled.

There is a wealth of online resources available to keep us active during Covid19 and there is a list of some of them on this website, be sure to check them out, there will be something for you amongst it all.

Have a good week, stay safe and be kind to yourself!

 

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