Tag: hiking

Arthritis, Be Well health tips

resveratrol for joints

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Gentle Reader,

There is so much I could share about this past weekend at my alma mater, Bryn Mawr College, just outside Philadelphia on the MainLine.  In keeping with the goal of this blog, I will single out arthritic joint issues and focus on possible remedies for joint pain.

Twenty-nine of my classmates came to celebrate our 55th reunion.  Everyone looked great:  not too many wrinkles, lovely hair, sparkling eyes.  But when it came time to walk up a few stairs, joints fail and pain ensues.  The cart is called to drive people where they need to go.  I’m wondering if the anti-aging product I’ve been taking for ten years has helped my joints so the same is not true for me.

Have you heard about Resveratrol?  It is the anti-oxidant found in red wine.  Shaklee started working on producing a pure tonic that combines the resveratrol and polyphenols found in the muscadine grade about ten years ago.  I have been taking my daily dose of this delicious liquid called Vivix since they made it available for sale.

There is no question that my body, like my class mates, suffers from the aging deterioration of cells that is normal for a 77 year old.  It appears we do not all age in the same way or at the same rate.  I have had severe osteo arthritis and spinal stenosis for years, probably brought about by factors such as stress, poor diet, and environmental toxins. I’ve worked hard on the diet part, but you cannot always eat perfectly, now can you.  These factors can weaken cells’ natural defenses, lower cell energy, damage DNA, and decrease cell performance. All of these can contribute to cellular aging.

Clinical Studies show Vivix® ingredients positively impact four key mechanisms of aging at the cellular level.

Shaklee scientists conducted a study to see if Vivix could defend against cell damage.

Cell Defense

 

Blunts Biological Stress
A clinical study published in The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism showed that key ingredients in Vivix blocked a key marker of biological stress response after the consumption of a high-fat fast food breakfast totaling 930 calories.

The results were exciting, while the study had nothing to do with joints, it showed that Vivix protected cells from damage.  My joints were damaged long before Vivix came along.  Perhaps protection is less important than repair.  Let’s see what happened with repair.

 Cell Repair

DNA Protection & Repair
Laboratory studies show that key Vivix ingredients help protect against DNA damage, supporting DNA replication for healthy cell function.

Shown in laboratory studies, Vivix protects and repairs DNA, which is assaulted millions of times every day. These assaults can damage the cell’s DNA, creating a “typo” that may compromise cell function and longevity.

A recent visit with my sports medicine doctor revealed a smaller than average spinal passageway for the cord to pass through.  Like my father before me, my spinal cord has little wiggle room.  That is the result of inherited DNA.  The data suggest that DNA can be repaired by resveratrol.  I am convinced that my joint health has improved instead of worsened over the last ten years.  The recent MRI indicated improvement.

Could it be that resveratrol reduces joint pain?  This is certainly my experience.

To learn more about Vivix and the ingredients, studies and results, click here.

Vivix is expensive.  It may be worth it if you want to slow down aging at the cellular level.  It certainly seems to help with joint pain and there are only side benefits from drinking a swig from the bottle every day.   I would give the body 90 to 180 days before deciding Vivix has made no difference in your joint function.  It is possible you will feel a positive difference much sooner.  Your blood is all new in 90 days and the joints, because of lower blood flow, will take double that to show results.

There are other resveratrol products on the market, but none have the muscadine grape’s extra anti-oxidants which seems to enhance the punch provided by resveratrol.  In addition, purity of product makes a difference and Shaklee scientists have been able to produce a 95% pure tonic.  Less purity may result in loose bowels.  Get some and see what your results are.

Good luck and keep moving, as moving is always the best single antidote to painful joints.

Be well, Do well and Keep moving,

Betsy

206 406 5940

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Grandmas on the move

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Gentle Reader,

The first few moments of a hike and I confess, I do not feel like one of those Grandmas on the move.  I feel every twinge in my ankles as they wake up; in my knees as the right one clicks ominously; in my left foot where the old neuropathy pain can flair up.  After about 20 minutes and everything works like a well oiled machine, a steady climb or descent.  There is no snow to speak of in our Snoqualmie Pass, so the ski bus was called off for the second week.  Three of us went hiking on the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River.  It was a beautiful day for us Grandmas on the move and we loved it.

Down in LA, the Trust for Public Land installed a fitness zone in a neighborhood park.  Here is what they found when they went back to check two years later:  Grandmas on the move.

Get your self out there and keep moving.  It makes a difference.  I have the choice of not moving when these twinges tell me my legs, joints and muscles are not working they way they did 50 years ago.  Sure, I have severe osteoarthritis and spinal stenosis.  These diagnosed conditions might give someone license to sit down.  Years ago, my neurologist told me I should be in a wheel chair, if my x-ray images were to be believed.  He said my bones were not good enough to operate.  “Get strong, Betsy.  Let your muscles carry you.”

These grandmas on the move have figured that out.  I hope you can find a way to do what they are doing.

Be well, Do well and Keep Moving,

Betsy

206 933 1889

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Speaking of feet: blisters

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Dear Gentle Reader,

In my last post, I talked about the pain of plantars faciitis along with some suggestions as to how to alleviate that debilitating pain. Today, I want to address the care of your feet, i.e. blisters and how to heal and prevent them.

Last Wed. Betty and I hiked 11 miles along Rattlesnake Ridge, overlooking North Bend, WA., a trail 45 minutes from Seattle. It is a through-hike requiring two cars.  We chose the long uphill route dropping to the Ledge and thence to the lake below.  Rattlesnake

People fall to their death from the Rattlesnake Ridge ledge
People fall to their death from the Rattlesnake Ridge ledge

ledge is infamous because so many unprepared people can easily get up there–it is only 1 1/2 miles, and every year one or two fall off to their death below.

View from Rattlesnake ledge
View from Rattlesnake ledge

In spite of arthritis, chronic pain, aching joints–hips, knees, ankles–, you still want to go walking.  Your feet must have the best possible support.  For me, this has been a huge challenge because I have bunions which require double wide men’s shoes.  At one point I developed a metatarsal neuroma or  Morton’s neuroma .  I mentioned Dr. Huppin’s Foot and Ankle clinic last week.  He knew exactly what modifications to make to the orthotic inserts to take the pressure off the 2nd toe and spread weight over all the toes.

He and his partner, Dr. Hale, publish a guide to shoes that helps a person choose the most stable shoe.  They even consider and recommend a flip flop!  Here’s the link where you can sign up for their recommended shoe list and guide lines on how to choose a shoe that will keep your foot stable.

On the Rattlesnake Ridge hike, I make a huge mistake.  I ignore a hot spot between my big toe and the 2nd toe, a place where I have rubbed countless blisters.  By the time I get home late that night, after another event, I can hardly walk.

I’d like to share what to do to avoid that suffering.  Blisters are serious business.  I knew a woman who ignored a blister her ski boot rubbed.  It developed septicemia and she died before they could airlift her to a hospital.

Women on Wed.hike to Red Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail
Women on Wed.hike to Red Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail

In my pack I carry a tape made by a German company.  The product is called Hansaplast and is not available in the US, only Canada and Mexico in North America.  But of course anywhere in Europe you can purchase rolls of this magical thin, easy-to-tear-with-your-fingers tape.  If I’m not going to Europe, I ask a traveling friend to buy it for me.  Usually I put a piece of this tape on the areas of my feet most likely to blister in my hiking boots before I begin the hike.  Usually, if I feel a hot spot, the way I did when we hiked out of Commonwealth Basin up the Pacific Crest Trail toward Red Pass, I stop on the trail and take off my boots and sox and put the tape on, thus preventing a blister.  But on Rattlesnake Ridge, I ignored everything I usually do.

The blister kept me awake all night. In the morning I punctured it, cleaned it carefully and put Second Skin on it.  This is the second thing to tell you about blisters.  Second Skin is a must for your pack first aide kit.  Don’t leave home without it.  You leave the second skin on for 5 days and by that time the blister is completely healed.  I hiked again yesterday, 8 miles on Tiger Mt. with quite an elevation gain.  Before going, I used the Hansaplast and a pair of liner sock.No blisters or sore feet.

One more suggestion for protecting your feet and legs: walk with hiking sticks and use them to lift your body up and lower it down on the steep bits of trail.  Your upper body gets a work out and your legs and feet have less stress.  We spent much of our time on Tiger a little bit lost.  I was glad we were 5 and that my smart phone GPS could locate us, but nothing helped poor signage.  We are determined to master the maze of wilderness trails on this complicated mountain, a foot hill of the Cascade Range, blessedly protected by forward looking environmentalists.  Known as the Issaquah Alps, Tiger and Cougar and Squak mountains form a corridor of wilderness in an otherwise densely developed exurban Seattle.

More than anything, keep moving, Gentle Reader, keep moving.

Before you go, what is your foot sore story and how have you kept sore feet from keeping you in your chair? Let us hear from you.

Be well, Do well and keep moving

Betsy

206-933-1889

 

 

e may

 

 

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

No Magic Pill to end Arthritis Pain

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Gentle Reader,

In the end, and in the beginning, there is only one thing we –you and I– can do to bring lasting health to our aching bodies.  Life style change.  As I travel the Alaska Marine Highway, eat in the cafeteria on board, snack along the wharf in the various Inside Passage towns, I struggle with how to maintain my eating habits with poor choices everywhere.  Some people go on vacation and throw their healthy life-style to the winds for those 7 – 21 days.  Unfortunately the stomach doesn’t know you are on vacation and when the deep fried foods, extra sour dough bread with butter come rolling down the intestinal track, the joints react.

I’ve been having a few digestive and joint issues until yesterday when I found an IGA in Skagway with a ripe peach, some snap peas, and carrots.  Amazing how getting back to the healthy routine will quickly restore one to their mobile less-pained body.  Did I mention I also found a 4 mile round trip hike up to Dewey Lake right out of Skagway on 2nd Ave?

hiking in Skagway
hiking in Skagway, Dewey Lakes

So good to move after strolling.  What a difference.

This article about the new weight loss drug Dexaprine came across my desk.  Dr. Chaney talks about the hazards of relying on a magic pill to take care of the pounds that weigh our joints down.  It simply doesn’t work. Read his whole article here.

Want to really make a difference in your health?  Lose 10 pounds.  Safely.  Let the fat go, keep the lean muscle.  Have the energy to work out, or a least begin a walking program.  Change the way you eat, permanently.  That’s what the 180 Turnaround kit and the Lean and Healthy Kit are all about.  Consider these Shaklee products as a way to launch yourself into a permanent life-style change.  Personally, I’ll be drinking –or pouring over my breakfast cereal–a Shaklee 180 smoothee for the rest of my life, just as I have been doing ever since I achieved my goal weight 25 years ago with the Shaklee shakes and vitamins.  Why not?  Excellent science behind the product.  Delicious. Sustains energy all day. Convenient to use (I have packets with me on this trip.)  Cheaper than the fast food items at Starbuck’s or McDonalds.  Begin today.

Be well, Do well and Keep Moving,

Betsy

PS to catch the latest on the Alaska expedition, click here

PPS Leave me your diet success/struggle stories in the comment section.

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Confessions of an arthritic painting contractor

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Gentle Reader,

Confessions of an arthritic painting contractor:

Taking down paintings, emptying book shelves, moving furniture, rolling up rugs, pulling up old wall-to-wall carpet, removing electric face-plates and then spackling, sanding, taping, and painting every wall that faces the outside is a sure-fire recipe for arthritic flare-ups of major proportion.  No matter how many times I lay down on the floor and hung my knees over the Back2Life machine; no matter how many of Shaklee’s herbal Pain Relief Complex tablets I took, I could not prevent pain from coming on.

The people I was supervising as general painting contractor were:

Carsten Rossen and Jack Dahlstrom, 14 and 16, grandsons who did major lifting and prep work and even some priming.

Hanna Rossen and Ben Killorin, 17 and 19, grandchildren who turned out to be excellent painters and were able to mask, spackle, sand, edge and roll paint with only a few drips here and there.  They each put in hours of time, their music blasting, bags of gorp and dried mangos, enormous sandwiches and Shaklee Performance drink for rehydration consumed.  Ben made the sandwiches as his first summer job was the Deli department at a local grocery store.

Elizabeth Skewis, friend of Grace, my oldest daughter, and now a great friend of mine, is a woman who has done everything under the sun for a living including painting.  She was my right hand gal, with skill and stick-to-itiveness, esthetic judgment and coaching for me and the teenagers.

Pete Rossen and Hanna, father and daughter, came to move the furniture back where it belonged after the final (almost final) painting was done.  He was the one who suggested I could hire my grandchildren when I was fretting about whom to get to do the painting.  I loved their youthful energy in the house and their “there, there, Grandma. Don’t lift anything.  Just tell us and we’ll do it.”

Mike Walker, my renter who lives down stairs and is a finish carpenter.  He put all the running toe board back in every room with his power tools.

The problem child in this final stage of the energy upgrade was, you guessed it, ME.  I love hard work and couldn’t stop myself from all the above mentioned tasks.  I did stop lifting.

Two observations that may help you who suffer from arthritis when you are over-active.

1.  Don’t stop moving.  In the middle of this ordeal I took a 3 ½ mile neighborhood walk which included a long downhill, then a beach walk and finally a 190 tread staircase and 4 long blocks uphill.  Moving keeps the nutrients flowing to the joints which are poorly nourished.  Without good nutrition, the crumbling joint cannot heal itself.  Which brings me to the second point:

2.  The cells in our joints are constantly repairing and rebuilding new, healthy cells to replace the worn out ones and to solve the problems of collapsing vertebrae.  Peggy Cappy talks about this in her meditative CD “Healing Back Pain” which I listen to nearly every day.  Wednesday, after hiking 9 miles round trip, 2000+ ft elevation gain, on Mt. Rainier’s east side to Summerland alpine meadow, I stopped for the evening with one of my hiking buddies.  Her husband is a neurologist with Group Health here in Seattle.  In our conversation he stated that these broken down joint cells do get replaced with fresh, healthy new cells that attempt to fix the problems.  He has told me many times to keep moving, no matter what.  Find something to do that doesn’t hurt and keep doing it.

Today, I spent the morning hanging pictures and scrubbing pain spots off the hard wood floors.  I have no pain.

You can build healthy joints, but you must keep moving to help your body accomplish that feat.

The house is beautiful.  It was all worth it.  Here’s a video I put together to show the energy upgrade work that was done.  When you see the space age water heater, you’ll appreciate the remark made by the city inspector when he came to sign off on the stepped-up electrical power,

“Wow.  This thing should be in the living room where you can sit with your friends, smoke a joint and watch it.”

Whoa!

May I offer a further explanation of the energy improvements under the new roof.  The Crown Roofing guys took off the old stuff including the particle board and before they put the new base and shingles on, the Vesta Performance guys laid down rigid insulation covered by a thin layer of reflective material which would further divert summer heat from entering the house.  They also installed a fan system circulating air in the summer and avoiding mold build-up from a poorly ventilated crawl space over the ceiling and under the roof.  I desperately needed a new roof and was able to fold the cost of the roof itself into the energy upgrade low-interest loan from the Puget Sound Community Credit Union.  This banking institution works with the city of Seattle to implement the Community Power Works program for the homeowner who wants to lower their carbon foot print.  A new roof by itself may or may not reduce heat loss from your house.

You are welcome to drop by and tour the garage and I’ll offer you a cold drink of some sort, but mostly you won’t notice anything different about the house.  It does look fresh and clean but I didn’t change the colors or the furniture.  If you are a person who notices roofs (is there such a person?), you’ll see that mine is beautiful, new and no places where the shingles have flown off in the latest wind storm.  But who looks at roofs?

I am so proud to have done this major effort to reduce my carbon foot print as part of Seattle Community Power Works.  The final numbers came through in the blow test today.  Looking good.  One tight house.  It’s for the Planet and the grandchildren.  I hope you’ll take advantage of any opportunity you have to do the same.  Congratulations if you already have.

Leave me a comment and while you are at it, please ‘like’ my Face book page.  I’d appreciate it.

Be well, Do well and Keep Moving,

Betsy

www.EmpoweredGrandma.com

206 933 1889

 

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Hard Core Mother of Four

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Gentle Reader,

My daughter, Priscilla, the personal trainer extraordinaire (www.hardcoremotheroffour.blogspot.com) mentioned a Pilates move when we were talking after Thanksgiving dinner.  For the first time, I thought she could probably help me with my chronic back issues.  Funny how your children can be experts to so many and take a long time to claim that status for their mother.

Tuesday I spent an hour with her in the Fitness Lab and came home excited with new exercises that will strengthen my abdominal region (and probably get rid of the little belly fat that sits there) and not hurt my back in the process.  She did some fine tuning and now I’ve got new interest in my morning routine.  I will share my new routine next week.

Yesterday, Wednesday, as I often do, I went hiking with friends in the nearby mountains we fondly call the Issaquah Alps.  Tiger is one wild place only a few minutes from the city.  We chose a meander that took us 7 miles up and around, past some “caves” (old mining area) and around a shallow lake.  When we got back to the car, I started feeling my pockets for the keys.  Nothing. Turns out they had fallen out when I reached in to put the parking permit on the mirror.  It took AAA 2 ½ hours to get there to open the door for me and my cell phone was dead.  Talk about stress.  It got pretty cold toward sun set.  I tell you all this because of what I did to keep from dissolving into a puddle of stress.  (My hiking friends were reluctant to leave me, but I shooed them away to their own tasks. There were plenty of other hikers returning to their cars in this very popular hiking area so there was no danger.)

I did Priscilla’s new exercises.  Brilliant.  And a super slow walking meditation.  And a sitting meditation.  And built an elegant rock chairn.  And ate my left over cookies from lunch.  And watched it get dark while I did some more exercises.  All in all, it was a pleasant time spent in my own head with no electronics, nothing to read, no pen and paper for writing practice.  A dream-time.

When the tow truck finally got there and let me drive away, I headed for the nearest Tully’s (i.e. Starbucks) and ordered an eggnog latte.  Hot soup and the hot tub awaited me at home.

Today, no lower back pain.  No arthritis in my bad joints.  No spinal stenosis acting up.  Life is good.

A friend just sent this wonderful video in his blog. I commend it to you.  William is a healer.  http://www.bodyandsoulmentor.com/

Now, take a minute to tell me about a stressful situation you had recently, what it did to your body and how you handled it.  We can learn from each other.  My readers love comments, so feel free.

Fondly, Betsy

Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving

BetsyBell’s Health4u

www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com

206 933 1889  1 888 283 2077

betsy@hihohealth.com

 

 

 

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis, travel

One more injury hiking the Engadin

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Gentle Reader,

The 3rd and most dramatic day of my hiking-in-the-Alps adventure this past Sept. occurred on day 5.  Pedie Jolly and I left the other two hikers at the Via Engadina junction above Grevasalvas where they would pass the “Heidi” house. We trudged on up beyond the tree line to a high lake just below a dramatic escarpment, at 8261 ft.  The trail was far more exposed than anticipated with shear drops to the left of us and uneven boulders to climb over. We were both dangling our hiking sticks from the left hand while clinging to rocky outcroppings with the right.  There was no looking down.  It reminded me of climbing Mt. Shasta in 2006 when my right foot crampons had only the inside 5 spikes engaged with the icy ground and I steadied myself with a well planted ice axe.  Even a thin line of grass along the outside edge of the trail made me feel as though I would arrive safely at the lake.  It was an opportunity to study my mind and how just a bit of green changes fear to a sense of security.  Pedie and I were thrilled to arrive at this lake, hike in a moonscape, where two or three others were already having their lunch. 

The lake at the Lunghin Pass, above Maloja, is part of the most notable triple watershed in western Europe, from where the Inn (Engadin Valley where we hiked) flows via the Danube to the Black Sea, the Maira via the Po to the Mediterranean Sea, and the Julia via the Rhine to the North Sea.  Depending on which direction we emptied our water bottles, those droplets may have run north, south or east, something too grand to envision.

Finding the way over a knoll and down was tricky and the path was slick with thick frost anywhere the sun had not reached.  It was already 2:30 in the afternoon and we still had the entire descent to accomplish.  The view was breathtaking, and for one moment, I lost my focus on my feet.  The trail was steeply downhill, wet and covered with schist, extremely slippery. Down I went, putting my right hand out to catch myself.  Instantly I knew I had hurt my wrist.  The fingers and thumb still functioned but pain shot up my arm when I put any pressure on my hiking stick.  I collapsed it and stuck it in my pack.  Pedie, walking behind me, and I had a 1000 ft drop in 2 miles.  It was slow going.

We caught a bus to our hotel in Sils Maria whereupon a driver took me immediately to St. Moritz, the glitzy place we’d been avoiding. It was 5:30 on a Friday.  No problem for this emergency clinic used to mountain injuries.  After several x-rays, an examination and lengthy discussion of two young doctors, they decided to cast my arm.  Neither the x-ray tech nor I thought I had broken anything, but I was glad to have protection for the last day of hiking and all the hauling of luggage on and off trains over the next 5 days.  Here I am with my bright red cast riding the train to Pontresina at the end of our hike.

The final day of hiking was in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland along a contour trail with many slippery, water soaked ups and downs assisted by chains or hand rails.  I couldn’t use them as they were all positioned for the right arm.  My right arm was cradled in a sling.  I was relieved to climb over the last of the tree roots, climb the last rocky stretch and walk into the most beautiful, remote high mountain village we’d been in yet: Soglio.  A long soak in the hot bath revived me.  Cold beer and good food gave a sense of triumph.  We had made it, a 50 mile walk in 6 days from the lower Engadine River to its headwaters and then down the other side.

Our bus ride back to the starting point took a couple hours. We could spot the ending and beginning points of each day’s hike as we retraced our steps to Pontresina.

What does one do when injured hiking?  Keep moving.  Get the injured limb as comfortable as possible.  Find a skilled clinic.  The x-ray tech in St. Moritz told me she does 6-8 of these castings a day in the ski season.  She knew what she was doing.  I had travel insurance and have filed my claim.  The clinic visit was $1000.  I took plenty of my herbal pain relieve and really didn’t suffer much.  By the time I got to the Villa Lina north of Rome 5 days later, I took off the cast and participated fully in the writers’ workshop for the week.

Will I have arthritis in this wrist?  Possibly.  Just like any joint injury, trauma creates structural stress and one is likely to pay the price with increased arthritis in the future.  I am using this right hand, wrist and arm fully, noting any twinges and backing off when necessary.  The osteoarthritis I deal with doesn’t seem any worse. In fact it is only on the days that I don’t get out and walk that I have pain.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the hike stories and will share yours with my readers.  Have old injuries come up to haunt you?  What are you doing to stay limber and keep moving?  Take a minute to leave a comment.  Come on over to Face Book and friend me, www.facebook.com/betsyjbell.  Sign up to get the next posts.  I have some great new research from Johns Hopkins about knee replacement to share with you next week.  You won’t want to miss it.

Fondly, Betsy

Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving

BetsyBell’s Health4u

www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com

206 933 1889  1 888 283 2077

betsy@hihohealth.com

 

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis, travel

Heart attack? Climbing high

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Gentle Reader,

How do you survive trekking at a high altitude?  The second day of our Engadine Valley hike in Switzerland began and ended from the little village of Zuoz, a bus and train ride from Guarda where our 1st day ended.

No more sciatica or lower back pain.  No more arthritis troubles with Pain Relief Complex on board.  Now the only task was to climb from 5700 ft to 8400 ft. to Escha Hut.  We knew it would be hard, but we managed to make it harder.  Instead of muscles spasms and a struggle with osteoarthritis, the pain and suffering of the day was mostly in my head.

As we climbed, I was short of breath. Then came the unsettled stomach.  Then a feeling of light headedness.  We passed a couple in their late 70’s from Zurich who had been in Zuoz over the weekend to play bridge and stayed on for a couple days to “take a little walk” in the area with their retired seeing-eye dog.  Looking very out of shape and carrying only a light nap sac, these two seemed to climb this trail with ease.  They did turn back when the path left the farm road and joined the cow tracks leading straight up the treeless slope.  Paging through all I know about women and heart disease, reviewing in detail my mother’s congestive heart failure symptoms and subsequent death AT MY EXACT AGE, I managed to get myself into a panic, anticipating a heart attack any moment.  At one point I called out “Would you just glance back here once in a while to see if I’m still upright?”  At this point Jaco, my Dutch friend, decided to walk behind me.  I later learned that all of us were struggling with shortness of breath. Chris, the 83 yr. old veteran of several Mt Rainier climbs, reminded us of deep inhales and slow, whistling out breaths.  The gals in front were already taking 10 steps and resting for a couple breaths.  I was absolutely sure I was having a heart attack.

At the top, we had the most delicious pumpkin soup, thick and creamy, sitting in the sun, our backs against the stone wall of Escha Hut, a busy place in the summer and even busier in the winter.  A mountain biker peddled up the way we went down, paused for a drink and went down the way we had just come up.  Way more impressive than Lance Armstrong.  No doubt powered by his own lungs, blood and muscle, this cyclist was out for recreation.

As we sat there gazing at the Bernina mountain range in the distance, completely covered with snow at 13,000 ft, I remember my first ascent to 10,000 ft on Mt. Shasta and realiz

ed I was suffering from altitude sickness, not heart disease.  The relief was so great, I fairly danced down the far side of the valley, past this amazing high mountain field of art. 

To avoid the precipitous downhill trail, we cut through a pass and circumnavigated the mountain in front of us, extending out trek by an additional 7 miles, making it a 14 miles day.  The benefit was this shot of a marmot late in the afternoon, one of many familiar critters scampering and diving into their burrows.  I’d been looking for them as all the telltale signs of marmot, just like in the Cascades, were everywhere.

One more physical challenge before our 6 days RyderWalker self guided trek was finished.  Tune in next Thursday for more pictures and that story.

 

 

 

 

Now let’s hear from you.  Have you had altitude sickness?  Were you aware of what was happening to you or did you think you were having a heart attack?  We’d like to hear your story.  If you enjoyed this read, pass it along.  Check me out on Facebook:  betsyjbell, and while you are there, ‘like’ my business page, https://www.facebook.com/BetsyBellsHealth4U.

Fondly, Betsy

Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving

BetsyBell’s Health4u

www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com

206 933 1889  1 888 283 2077

betsy@hihohealth.com

 

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis, travel

Hiking the Engadine: Avoid arthritis pain

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Gentle Reader,

I am back safe and sound from my hike through the Engadine Valley in the Alps in Switzerland and the Writers Workshop in Villa Lina north of Rome.  And my body is not suffering from arthritis!  Sitting in the airplane for the long flight to Amsterdam, the first stop of my journey, I actually slept with the help of medication, Lunesta is my sleeping aid of choice, a prescription only drug that costs plenty.  I used it twice on the trip to help me get into the European hemisphere and the first night back home.  Otherwise, Gentle Sleep Complex, an herbal combination of Valerian, passion flower and chamomile.  It works like a dream to take 3 before going to bed, no matter what hotel I found myself in.

The real challenge to a body with a lot of spinal stenosis and potential joint discomfort is hauling suitcases and loading the heavy hiking pack up onto my shoulders.  Paying close attention to all the good advice I have posted over the past 1 ½, and asking for help getting in and out of trains—“you’re looking strong.  Can you help me with my suitcase, please?”—I managed to arrived back home without pulling a muscle from lifting suitcases.  Read on to see what a silly thing I did to pull a muscle badly.

I’d like to share my challenges with you in case you ever encounter similar problems.  You might avoid the same pitfalls.

First, a little back ground.  I am in a hiking group that hits the trails in the Pacific Northwest every Wednesday, rain or shine, except for January and February when we cross country ski.  Keep moving to keep arthritis at bay, is our motto.  Of all the gals in our group, Pedie took me up on taking a hike in Switzerland.  Jaco, our friend and fellow hiker who has returned to her homeland in the Netherlands to live out her life, was eager to join us as she missed our weekly hiking and friendship.  She, Pedie and I all celebrate our 75th birthdays this year, so this was an added incentive.  Our fourth hiker was Chris, already 83 yrs old. May I just add here that we met plenty of older people hiking as this sort of trekking is not unusual in Europe. Jaco and I took an overnight train to Zurich and then a train to the southeast part of Switzerland to join the other two.  You’ll recognize the place names St. Moritz and Davos if you follow the rich and famous.  We stuck to smaller, less glitzy places.

Our first stop in the Engadine valley was a town called Scuol.  It is famous in Europe for its mineral baths and the modern spa is worth the trip.  I had so much luggage that I had exploded into a collapsible cloth bag to make my back pack as light as possible and still not leave anything behind that I might need on the trail. We were walking from one village to the next, up over the mountains and needed to be ready for any change in the weather.  Ryder/Walker, our self guided tour company, arranged for our luggage to be taken to the next hotel along the way, arriving in our rooms well ahead of us.

Helping with jet lag and pounding our muscle into jelly, we spent a luxurious afternoon soaking in the mineral baths, going from super hot indoors, through the watery opening into the sun, blue sky and swirling outdoor pool with its jets and waterfall showers.  By the time I got back to the hotel, I was a noodle.

Here’s the trouble #1.  I spent half an hour bent over my luggage rearranging things to begin hiking the next day.  When I tried to stand up, all the muscles in my lower back had stretched out and refused to budge.  Here I was, pain shooting through my body, unable to catch my breath or stand and walk to dinner.  I got out my theraband and hit the floor with stretches and exersizes; filled the ice bag I had brought just in case and took a couple Pain Relief Complex herbal Cox 2 and 5 Loc inhibitors, pain pills that don’t hurt your stomach.  I’m the one who put this great hiking experience together and I wasn’t going to be able to walk a mile, much less carry a pack.

After a fabulous 8 course dinner and a bottle of Swiss wine between us, more ice and Pain Relief Complex, a good night’s sleep, and a ice bag tucked into my hiking pants, I was ready to walk it out this next morning.  It worked.  Walking is the best thing for lower back pain.  After about a half hour, I was ready to dump the ice and the rest of the 6 days I was free of lower back difficulties. 

The take away from this is

1.  Never do any extreme movements after a hot tub, deep tissue massage or the pummeling pleasure of a mineral springs spa.  I should not have bent over rearranging my luggage, and a little voice told me that at the time, to which I paid no attention.

2.  Don’t give up on yourself when you do pull a muscle.  Ice, stretch and do your best to walk it out.  This idea of lying flat on your back and taking muscle relaxants, in my opinion and long time experience, is not the way to handle lower back pain.  I have loosened up sciatica several times in the past by icing, stretching and walking.

Now, Please, tell us your methods for dealing with this kind of muscle pain, how you got yourself into the mess in the first place and how you got out of it.  We all want to learn from each other.  So go ahead, leave a comment, and sign up to get notification of my next posting which will take you on down the trail in the Engadine to the next near calamity on our great adventure.

Fondly, Betsy

Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving

BetsyBell’s Health4u

www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com

206 933 1889  1 888 283 2077

betsy@hihohealth.com

 

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

How to Keep Your Hand Moving–Without Pain

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Gentle Reader,

A good friend is suffering from arthritis in her hand causing discomfort playing tennis and gripping the handles of her hiking pole. Her pain, like the arthritis pain in many aging hands, is the gradual deterioration of the joints because of continued use and abuse over a long, productive life.

In 1980 when I was cross country skiing with one of my daughters and a couple other mother/daughter teams up in whistler, BC, I hit an early morning patch of shade at the bottom of a long sun-warmed downhill.  The sudden change threw me off balance.  Gripping the pole twisted my thumb right out of its socket.  The big bone at the base that creates our opposing pincher strength thrust up over the back of the hand.  Luckily my companion had an extra ski tip, a sandwich bag with ice and an ace bandage in her pack.  I skied the 3 – 4 miles back to the Whistler plaza area.  But I didn’t take care of the problem right away.  Knowing how foggy minded I am without food, I had a sandwich, chatting in the sun with the others before going to the emergency doctor.  He, of course, scolded me for not getting to him immediately, pulled the dislocated thumb joint into place and made a temporary splint.  My daughter, a newly minted licensed driver, got us home safely to Seattle.

At the University Hospital, the orthopedist crafted a form fitting splint and sent me on my way.  There was little to no physical therapy afterwards.

Today this thumb joint is disfigured, but never hurts.  In the late 80’s it throbbed and ached frequently and I doubted I would be able to continue to play the flute.

Who do you know whose livelihood depends on fully functioning hands?  Musicians, typists, writers, doctors, and carpenters just to name a few.

Read on for a scientific discussion of the hand and arthritis in its joints.  But before you do, I want you to take action based on this blog post.

Go to the comment section and tell us how your hands are doing and what it would mean to you to lose their dexterity and strength.

Go to my Shaklee shopping page and read about the products that turn this advancing arthritis pain around, keeping the joints healthy and mobile.

Share this article with someone you know who is suffering from joint inflammation, joint pain in the hands whether from an injury or wear and tear of age so they can chose an alternative to the treatments described in the medical information to follow.

What is the cause of arthritis pain in the hand? When arthritis is due to trauma, the cartilage is damaged.

A doctor can diagnose arthritis of the hand by examining the hand and by taking X-rays.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m giving you a link to a thorough and detailed article published by the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons.  Because of the copyright law, I will not include the whole text in this post.  http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00224

What I will point out is that there is never a mention of nutrition as a possible abatement, intervention or even treatment for a painful, swollen arthritic joint.  What I can tell you from personal experience and the experience of thousands of others is that a nutritionally supported joint will remain functional, will heal itself and will serve you for many years without the surgeries described.  It is wonderful the medical profession has developed these treatments, but why not avoid them as long as we possibly can?

When I am talking nutrition, I am not limiting that to food intake or a couple multi-vitamins a day.  Some of us need to supplement far more as well as eating a diet of green leafy vegetables, brightly colors fruits, lean protein, little or no dairy, processed sugar or wheat.  For my thumb to stay supple and allow me to write for 45 minutes, keeping the pen moving across the page, or weeding for 45 minute without pain, I must have at least 3000 mg. of vitamin C a day.  I add the oils to that:  3 servings of the omega oils, 3 servings of GLA, 3 servings of Lecithin.  If that seems like a lot, maybe your body would get all the help it needs from a highly absorbable and effective Joint Health supplement with glucosamine hydrochloride and Boswellia that penetrates and increases mobility. I noticed additional comfort when I added this to my diet.  Take a look at this video.  If your current supplement program isn’t bringing you the relief you want, may I suggest 90 days with the Shaklee equivalents and Joint Health Complex?  Changing brands could change your life.

Fondly, Betsy

Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving

BetsyBell’s Health4u

www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com

206 933 1889  1 888 283 2077

betsy@hihohealth.com