Move It Or Lose It

I have a pain going down my arm. A pain going down my leg. A pain behind my shoulder blade. Welcome to the wonderful world of stroke after effects. My blog and web site tell me how people came across my sites. Most are searches for answers to the above statements along with hundreds of time based questions.

How long will my recovery take? Does the tingling in my face, hand or foot go away? The list goes on and on but I can't answer all of them in one sitting at the keyboard so I'll start with pain. There is nothing more debilitating than a constant ache.

This pain was deep inside of my muscle. I would rub my shoulder, arm, leg and the bottom of my foot as I tried to rub the pain away. It wouldn't go away. Pills wouldn't chase it away. Tried everything from aspirin to morphine. Nothing.

For the longest time I called it Phantom Pain, it's there but it isn't. If pills couldn't touch it then it's an imaginary pain. I'm good at thinking past my pain but as time went by it was getting worse. Sitting still would ease some of it sometimes. Other times it hit me like a sneak attack. Just sitting around minding my own business and the Phantom Pain Returns ( Imagine a sharp musical stab on an organ playing in the background ).

Sharp pain is not that unusual for stroke survivors, the music is optional. My dad wanted a wheelchair so he could get around when he went shopping with mom. He walked with a cane and a brace on his ankle so what does he need a wheelchair for? You can be in pain walking or wheeling about, it make no difference.

She was on the verge of getting dad what he wanted till she met a man at the mall whos father was in the same situation as dad. This mans father had walked with a cane and brace right up till the family bought the wheelchair. He told mom it was the last time his father walked. Don't get him one unless he really can't walk was his advise. She took that advise and dad continued to walk and walk better for years to come.

It occurred to me if I was going to beat this pain I'd have to do it on two fronts, psychologically and physically. First part was attitude. Have a good one. If it aches it works! Better than it not working at all. Second part, lets get physical. The one thing I was missing since the end of my therapy was my therapy. That was simple.

Dads greatest change for the better was when he got into a routine of daily exercise. I did the same laying down on the floor and streaching my muscles back and forth. Tense them and relax them over and over. It didn't take long and quickly I was getting the benefit of less ache and more mobility.I didn't lose it because I learned to move it!