Harvest time is here again in Central IL

I was told just 2 days ago, by a Bloomington friend, that harvest season began here a week ago. He mentioned it because some people have claimed that the corn fields are the source of all the aphids in town, as they get dislodged from the fields and head to town in search for trees to mate. He was also pleasantly surprised that his allergies haven't kicked in, which up till that time, was true for me as well. But, since we've talked, my morning allergies have definitely gotten worse. Not as bad as last year, that's for sure, when I couldn't tell if I were sick or suffering from allergies for an entire 3 months! But, still, I gotta hunker down. My plan? Stay away from grass and weeds (no disc golf!), a daily dose of Zyrtec, a daily dose of locally produced honey, and hope.

Difficulties diagnosing injuries of the shoulder

It must be difficult to diagnose shoulder injuries. At first I was diagnosed with having rotary cuff tendinitis. Then, after a more in-depth evaluation, the verdict was deltoid tendinitis, a less severe injury than those associated with the rotary cuff. Now, after yet another evaluation, my therapist says that the deltoid tendinitis judgment was mistaken. It's rotary cuff. Whatever it is, I have to say that it's feeling better today, after two weeks of treatment and laying off the weights.

Car-free living diary

I'm believe very fervently that the automobile has degraded our lives, and our health, and that the more we can divorce ourselves from its use, the better our lives will become. The car not only pollutes the environment, directly impacting the health of our lungs, it also makes us lazy, reducing the amount of exercise we get in a day. Also, driving cars is aesthetically unappealing. By walking or riding bicycles, we are much more likely to enjoy our surroundings, take notice of the beauty around us or complain if it is unattractive (I'm thinking here of the terrible monotony of strip-mall, highways underpasses, the concrete jungle that largely gets ignored speeding down the street with the stereo cranked up). For me, it a quality of life issue, for which reason I'm going to record the number of car miles driven per month with the goal of decreasing my car usage. Eventually I'll record my bike miles as well. Just so you know, however, my car use might increase slightly in the months ahead as we head into winter and increase my regional Illinois activism.

August miles: 175 miles (record)

No health risk posed by aphids

With the swarms of annoying aphids in Bloomington-Normal nowadays, we can feel content at least that they pose no health risks. The Pantagraph reported recently that the aphids do not pose a risk to humans. The only problem they pose is to gardens and plants.

Exercise for the glutes

I've seen many times at the gym a stability ball used for gluteus maximus strengthening, and have been thinking lately that I need some strengthening in that area. This site offers the glute stability ball exercise I've seen, with good instructions on how to perform the exercise.

When enough is enough

With my recent experience of needing physical therapy, due to my deltoid tendinitis, and my excruciatingly painful back problem in February, it is more than clear to me now that I need to listen to my body when it feels pain! Both problems were caused by exercising when injured, making a bad situation much worse. My deltoid tendinitis is slowly getting better, but now I worry that I may have permanently damaged the tendon that connects the deltoid to the lower arm, making for a chronic condition. My doctor claims that deltoid tendinitis usually doesn't become chronic, turning into tendonoses (a condition wherein the tendon actually changes in consistency, becoming more brittle and liable to fraying), as does rotator cuff tendinitis. But he did say that it might never feel 100%. Oh well, all I can do is hope it gets better. Maybe weightlifting is no longer a possible exercise for me.

How uncommon is deltoid tendinitis?

Today I did a Google search for my current ailment, deltoid tendinitis, and not finding that much, came away with the impression that it is somewhat uncommon. Wikianswers.com says so directly, and my physical therapist's reaction seemed to suggest it. There's one question for my physical therapist! The other is if my tendinitis has reached a chronic stage, which would mean that it might take 6 weeks to heal.

Deltoid tendinitis

My evaluation appointment with the physical therapist finally came, and I was surprised to lern that I don't have a rotator cuff injury but deltoid tendinitis. Tendinitis in the rotator cuff is located more in the high shoulder area, internal to the socket, whereas my injury is half-way down the deltoid where the muscle turns into tendon. Luckily, deltoid tendinitis responds better to therapy.

During my visit today, the therapist did an ultrasound procedure that I've seen during televised episodes of Democracy Now!, wherein this prolonged apparatus is massaged over lotioned skin. In my case, the ultrasound was massaged over my deltoid, using a steroid lotion. I was then led through a battery of exercises that I need to perform twice a day and advised to set up appointments twice weekly. Well, at least I know what it is and that it's not too serious!

All-out war against allergies

As allergy season approaches in central IL, I'm gearing up for an all-out war against the onslaught to come. Last year was my first year facing the allergy season here. Many people say that we have the worst hay fever season in the country, owing to the corn harvest in September and October. I remember last year, a year ago this Friday, when my allergies began. They didn't let up for three whole months. This year, though, my doctor said that I should be on a steady dose of Zyrtec, taken once every day. That dosage, and avoiding grass (last year I played disc golf endlessly on the weekends, a huge mistake) is this year's plan so far.