P. T.-- My New Favorite Place To Be: A Sign of Aging?

I am spending lots of time these days at the physical therapy office. I keep asking my therapist if my injuries are the result of wear and tear, i.e., aging, or if I injured myself in some way. He sort of squinches his eyes and starts talking real fast, partly avoiding the question and partly saying that it's a little of both. Although the majority of the patients in the PT office are "seniors," there are also a good number of young adults who are suffering sports injuries. Our bodies weren't meant to run at 100% for 100 years--at least that's what they tell me. The thought of developing a chronic condition which may limit my future activities is very troublesome to me. Is this just one more of the things we have to learn to accept as we age gracefully?

I'm in the throes of bone spurs and achilles tendonitis, caused by inadequate stretching of my calf muscles, aka, the gastrocnemius, before walking. My friends and I always stretch before walking but somewhere along the way I must have forgotten this one really important combination of muscle and tendon. The lack of proper stretching has caused the Achilles tendon to pull on my heel bone, gradually tearing away calcium deposits and developing a bone spur.

As I do my uniquely prescribed regimen of exercises for strenthening and stretching, I love to watch all the other clients there and guess what their injuries are. This is my third go-round in the experience of physical therapy. I have been diagnosed with frozen shoulder twice and a pinched sciatica nerve once. Those were back when I was much younger, say in my 50's. I have seen more ways to move the body and to manipulate joints and bones and muscles in all my visits to the PT office than I ever knew existed. Last week, when I saw a high school student athlete sliding back and forth on what looked like a very small ice-rink (in reality it was a very slick piece of some kind of synthetic fiber,) I prayed secretly that Scott would not say, "You're up next!" I'm sure I would have broken more bones, stretched more tendons, and torn more ligaments in the course of the exercise instead of healing any existing injuries.

At first, as a patient, you think to yourself, "oh my gosh, everyone must be looking at me. I must look so silly with my butt up in the air like this!" But after three or four visits, you realize that everyone is focusing on his / her own stretches and not paying much attention to you. Or else they are just as embarrassed as you are and they are avoiding eye contact! So far, I have found everyone--patients and therapists and therapists' assistants--to be extremely pleasant and helpful. What a world of knowledge they possess. I am in awe everytime I hear a new muscle or body tissue mentioned. Actually, I am in awe of the human body. Having an injury, no matter how small, causes one to develop new respect for the complexity of the body that we call our own.

The one part of the therapy session that is most pleasing (warning--true confessions ahead!) is when the therapist massages my ankle and calf. Even though it sometimes hurts, the pleasure of experiencing the sense of human touch is healing in itself. Plus, to speak quite frankly, I don't have much else going on in my life right now in the category of touching, so it's either from the therapist or my cat where I'm getting my strokes! (no pun intended)

Right now my goals are to be able to walk moderate distances pain-free in Arizona and at the Grand Canyon in September. Wish me luck! I may not be particularly athletic or smart, but I am determined!

Does anyone else have experience with bone spurs and achilles tendonitis? Tell me there is a light at the end of the tunnel!