So there’s an issue with my arm, the one in the picture. It’s been bothering me for a few months, off and on. At first I thought it was minor and would go away. But it seems to keep returning. Somehow I have had pain/inflammation in this left arm for months. It’s not constant, some days are better than others. But it doesn’t seem to be vanishing easily.
Dealing with this reminds me of how often our bodies are in a repair and recovery mode, healing from our workouts, stress, lack of sleep, or repetitive stress from all kinds of physical activity, including shoveling snow and chipping ice a little bit too aggressively (I think that is what caused the original problem or contributed to it.) We have to really take care of ourselves thoughtfully, mindfully, and carefully, don’t we?
So far I’ve been treating it before my runs with Biofreeze, which is a wonderful roll-on or spray pain reliever. Also compression sleeves/shirts have helped. The sleeves seem to help more.
The strange thing is that originally the right arm seemed to be in more pain (during winter going into spring). Fortunately, my right arm has healed. The left one is still an issue.
It has required some modification in my activities, simple things like trying to keep the dog leash primarily in my right hand/arm. Sometimes I run with the dog a little less (she can pull hard on the leash if she gets excited or wants to run fast).
I’m trying to stretch my arms more, planking a little less (stress on arms), using resistance bands instead of weights (especially with the left arm). I’m running a little less too while I figure out how to alleviate the problem.
Unfortunately, it seems like there’s almost always a trouble spot physically (or at least a weakness) where issues like this can flare up. I’ve become more accustomed to this being more in my legs and not so much in my arms really. But any area of the body can feel stress and strain.
Soaking daily with Epsom salt helps. I haven’t tried ice a whole lot, just a little, usually with frozen peas (just remember to put the bag back in the freezer if you don’t eat them then;)
I’ve tried to swing my arms less when I run/walk. But if the dog leash is in the right hand, the left arm is usually pumping a little bit. Trying to rest it and elevate it.
Hopefully it will heal soon before summer. Warmer weather may help. Winter has not been kind on my arms. We didn’t use our snowblower at all this winter. All the shoveling and ice chipping was with my arms.
Every day, I try to take anti-inflammatory foods and spices as much as possible to keep the inflammation down and control it better. It does help. Turmeric with black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, etc. Fresh fruits and veggies. Berries.
What tips, tricks or techniques have you tried to heal from injuries? Please share with us.
Thank you for listening.
Before we part…I wanted to remind you to take steps to stay safe on the road/trail when you run/walk/bike. One way of doing this is using Brilliant Reflective safety strips (see above on my vest and the dog leash). They have a vast array of stick-on and iron-on strips in various colors that I use a lot: daily. Check ’em out here: BrilliantReflective.com. If you have any questions about it, please don’t hestitate to ask. I’m here to help.
Happy healthy trails my friends!
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