|
Exercise Key to OA Recovery
By Dianna Borsi O'Brien
Jean Straub had so much pain in her knees from osteoarthritis, she prayed to God for help.
And help arrived - in the form of an exercise class started right in her apartment building.
In no time, she was not just showing up for the twice-a-week exercise class, Straub was leading it. Today the retired nurse says the pain from her osteoarthritis is gone. "I really don't have any complaints. It just doesn't hurt anymore," she says.
"The Lord just healed me," Straub says. Straub acknowledges that along with help from above, it was exercise that led to her recovery. "The exercise helped because I continued to do it," Straub says.
Why Exercise?
Today, her arthritis is so improved that after taking early retirement four years ago, Straub returned to work full time. She is an administrative secretary for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America St. Louis Metropolitan Chapter.
Straub remains determined to stay active, despite working full time. She's a member of the local Y, attending three times a week to use a variety of machines including the bicycle to keep in shape.
Watching Straub grin as she pedals away, it is hard to believe that four years ago, she took early retirement from her job as a nurse. As she puts it, she was unable to go on.
"I used to not be able to walk," Straub recalls. As her osteoarthritis pain progressed, she stopped going out altogether. "I was embarrassed," Straub said. "When I would sit ... I couldn't get up and I would just limp. It kept me from doing a lot."
She knew she should exercise. At one point, her physician refused to give her a prescription for pain. Instead, Straub says, "She told me to get some high tops and get out there and walk." Her daughter even offered to walk with her.
"We walked for about a month and my pain went away," Straub recalls.
But relief did not last.
"I hated to exercise," Straub explains.
What Happened
She prayed, "Lord, show me a way."
The way turned out to be exercise that grew into more than stretching, sweat and bending her way into a healthier life.
"We applied music," Straub says, and soon there were games and prizes. The class grew from three or four participants to an average of 16 adults turning out for twice-weekly sessions.
Straub's class was one of the several offered at various locations by the Greater St. Louis Regional Arthritis Center, one of seven such centers in Missouri. The state's Regional Arthritis Centers offer arthritis self-help and exercise classes at many venues such as apartment buildings, senior centers or churches.
"I loved it," Straub says.
Today Straub says she is known at the senior citizens apartment building where she lives as the "Wild One" because she is so active.
"I just believe if you stop, you drop," Straub says.
|
|
