Younger Longer: Hamstring to Damnstring

 When it hurts it is horrid

 but when it works it's glorious.

In one simple bend or squat my older body can go from agile and flexible to humble and bent. Perhaps a more humorous outlook is to call staying healthy as we age "a real pain the butt!"

Lining up a putt at Quail Creek GC.

I have enough difficulty sitting that is simply inborn in me, but when I sit to write or sit to read and my hamstring is tight it pinches my sciatica and butt! Sitting and bouncing in a golf cart can be surprisingly painful. All the more reason to walk, now that we have survived the 100 degree days. Most of all the shortened or inflamed hamstring pulls on my back. When that happens I cannot rotate my hips properly. Often the painful hamstring causes me to sway instead of rotate allowing my arms and shoulders to take over.  

My thinking is to never let pain be in control of my life.

My mother taught me that WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY.  

So, once again with the help of physical therapists and exercise options, I now incorporate "the pigeon stretch" nearly every day.

 

Step One! bend at the hips, not the back. 

 Step Two! Reality test.  Stop when it hurts.

It will get easier. 

Another step to keep the body young and agile is to learn the flapper step. When the quadriceps or hamstrings are tight the dance step is short and slow. 

 OR

When the quadriceps and hamstrings are agile look what can be achieved, if you can laugh at yourself and be proud.

 Letty's version of the flapper dance.

Most importantly keep moving, wiggling, giggling, and kicking.

The Dancing Flapper Girls  Click on this link for a flash back in time.

And remember the words of George Bernard Shaw:

"This is the true joy in life, the being used

for a purpose recognized by yourself

as a mighty one...

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the

community, and as long as I live, it is my

privilege to do for it whatever I can. 

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die,

for the harder I work, the more I live."