Getting Stronger Day by Day

It's true! I really am getting stronger day by day :) I've been walking regularly as many days as I can, and I'm up to walking 2 miles! Woohoo! I had to go buy shoe inserts because my feet we're aching by the time I'd get back to my apartment.

Once a week I'm trying to go walking with a couple of my dear friends. This week was supposed to be our first week - but I had an asthma attack on Monday that was pretty bad so I stayed home yesterday to rest. The good news is that I'm having very few attacks these days, so over all I'm able to exercise pretty consitantly!

Along with the walking I'm doing a few basic aerobic exercises like crunches, leg lifts, and some modified push ups. I do the push ups against the wall because my back has never been strong enough to do them normally, and this still strengthens my arms and upper back. I've also just barely started working on learning some yoga exercises. I picked up a video from the library and I'm slowly working that into my routine.

I'm still not seeing a ton of results, but I'm sure those will come with time. It's kinda hard to measure how my weight is changing because my scale is officially broken! Oh well. I'm sure we'll go get a new one soon.

I do have to be careful while exercising though. If I've recently had an asthma attack then Mo tries to go walking with me, just in case. I always have my cell phone with me if I walk alone so I can call for help if something goes wrong.

Last week I found out there's another complication. Not with my walking, but with doing the other exercises. I have osteopenia, which is the stage before osteoperosis. My hips density is fine, but my lower back is way out of range for someone my age. This means I'm at higher risk for a broken back than most people my age.

Putting things in perspective though, I've always had back issues, so I've always been careful while exercising. I have scoliosis (a twisted spine), shoulder damage from a car accident, and sciatica (problems with the long nerve in my right leg). I'm much more likely to do something that could potential trigger pain in one of those than I am to break something!

Plus, I have the go ahead from my chiropractor to exercise. I stopped all exercises until I checked with her (well except for walking) and she said that the exercise is the best thing for me as long as I continue to be careful.

The positive side about exercising is that I'll not only feel better (I already am!), but the exercise helps the calcium I'm taking build up in the bones of my lower back. It's possible to reverse the damage that's been done, and at the least, to prevent the damage from getting worse.

Why do I have these problems? It's a side-effect of the prednisone that I'm on for my asthma. Hopefully I'll be able to work off of that in the next year, but for now, I'm doing everything I can to minimize the long time effects.