Late last Summer I was playing in a park near me with my three youngest boys.
Having just catapulted one of them down a zip slide a few times I thought, since there was no queue either, that my youngest 15 month old boy would probably enjoy a ride with his Dad down said zip slide.
I grabbed the suspended seat in one hand, my lad in my other arm and managed to negotiate up the ramp ready for take off!
On tip toes I managed to straddle the seat and like a fair ground ride my arm clamped around my boy sitting on my lap opposite me.
One hand on the chain between us and we were ready…. after a slightly awkward hop, skip and a jump we were off the ramp and flying.
“Weeeeeeeee…. owwwwwwwwww” I said as my arm holding the chain between us seemed to loose power like an engine running out of fuel, my grip was tight but my arm started to uncurl under my weight and I started to lean back. As I did my grip on my boy loosened and I couldn’t stop it, thankfully this is not the kilometre long zip slide you find in Wales, we hit the end and I jumped off moments before I was going to fall off.
Where had my strength gone? Since then I have felt it weekly in my arms. Strictly speaking it’s not my elbow so much as the tendons on my inner elbow joint.
The NSAID didn’t seem to help it , but I probably don’t take them as much as I should. It’s meant I struggled more with regular tasks like when I recently had to adjust my stance and use both arms to lift a 10litre pot of paint out of the trolley and on to the desk at B&Q. Something I wouldn’t struggle with a year ago.
It’s also meant that throwing my boys around in the air ends after a minute or two as the pain and fatigue kicks in. This is what kills me inside. I want to be their rock of strength, but strong is not how I’d describe myself right now.
Perhaps stopping Tae Kwon Do after achieving my Black Belt was a cause I thought. What else has changed?
Then this morning I realised it could be my posture at work and home when typing. I have a tendency to hold my arms ever so slightly off the desk or table, which means my tendons are exposed to long periods of tension, a bit like sleeping in a funny position and waking up with a stiff neck. So maybe it’s not an injury or AS inflammation, maybe it’s just an ache from typing with my arms unsupported?
Well, I’m going to try and relax my arms more while I type and see what happens. Let’s hope it’s that simple, then I can start throwing my boys around in the air again come the Spring!