Exercises and the cold

No, it's not me

People keep asking me if the cold weather is affecting my arthritis and I reply no, not really. However today that is not the case. For the first time I have woken up with knees that feel twice the size of what they should be and stiff to the point that I have found it difficult to even get dressed.

I’m staying at my daughter’s house while she is away for the week and I didn’t realise how difficult it would be to get in and out of her bath/shower. My bathroom is tiny, lots of walls to hold onto but my daughter’s bathroom is huge and there are not many nearby walls. However it was good to get into the shower and getting those old joints moving.

This seems to be the exercise day, so here are a few more;

For this you will need a step, the bottom step of a flight of stairs in fine, works for me, anyway.

Stand in front of the step, feet hip distance apart, step up with one foot, then lean forward bending the knee forward over your toes. It’s important to keep everything in alignment. Hold for 3 and then step down, repeat x12, repeat with the other leg.

Stand in front of the step, feet hip width apart, step up with one foot, follow through with second foot, so you are now standing on the step with both feet. Step down with the first foot followed by the second foot, repeat x12. Then repeat using the second leg first, repeat x12.

Don’t forget to do the full body stretch at the beginning and the end.