I Should Be Swimming ... But I'm Not!

It's after 6:00 am on a Saturday morning. In fact, on THE Saturday morning that I've been waiting for months to arrive. Yet, I'm at home, sitting at the keyboard instead of swimming in the outdoor pool on opening day. Why? Because my arm is totally in pain. 

That large red mass is the biceps
tendon, and yeah - it's hurting from
my shoulder to my elbow. I'm supposed
to do gentle exercises and keep strain
to a minimum, also to back away from
exercise that may make things worse
like swimming or tennis. I don't play
tennis, but my body is taking my pool
away from me and I'm NOT happy. 

I've been looking up bicep tendonitis and it doesn't look like an easy fix. But the many articles are quite clear - avoid things that exacerbate the pain, exercise gently, avoid swimming (can you hear my weeping over that one?) and use ice and KT tape. If overworked and strained, it can tear, and if it tears, it will require surgery. Nope - not going to tear this sucker. But, that pulls the pool back out of my workouts and regulates me to machines for most, if not all, of the summer. I'll drop by the clinic on Tuesday morning and set up an appointment with my doctor for after I get back from my early June vacation. It's possible she'll order an MRI just to get a good feel for what we're dealing with here. 

KT tape is the short name for Kinesiology
Therapy tape. It's stretchable tape that
gently helps stimulate or control muscles. It
comes in a variety of colors. I use a hot
pink waterproof tape that will survive
the pool (rather moot now, but it won't be
forever). 

All I know is I was in the pool on Thursday and Friday and it hurts. A lot. I can't swim effectively, and as much as I want to be in the water, I don't want to swim with just one arm. I'm not getting a good workout, and I'm not enjoying my time in the pool. I'm horribly disappointed, it's a kick in the pants. 

I'm very bummed that I can't be swimming right now. But
I'm in serious hurt, and would like to get the pain
under control before returning to the water. Time to
see the doctor and get some options going. 

Oh well, at least I'll get two days off starting on Sunday. In the US, Monday is Memorial Day, so I'll be taking the day off to sleep a bit later. I won't be posting again until Tuesday, so try to be good, try to stay safe, and please be kind. I promise I'll be back on Tuesday morning, probably with tales of our second trip to the garden center. More flowers and additional plants are calling our names. Have a great long Memorial Day weekend!