With that in mind, I work hard to give me relief now. Two sessions every week with my trainer keeps me mobile. Braces and patella straps are a regular part of my wardrobe. Ice packs are always found in my freezer.
But, I am always up for something new to try and the above is my latest bright idea that worked a bit. No, that's not me in the photo. The device attached to Mr. Ed is, however, the same that was attached to yours truly. Not in a stable, but in the comforts of my living room.
I have tried PEMF Therapy. And there are a lot of positives. PEMF stands for "Pulsed Electromagnetic Field." Essentially, these are jumper cables for your body.
I knew nothing about this until about a month ago. Our lead actress on a current project posted on her Facebook page that her best friend had been certified as a PEMF therapist. She was starting a home business and my friend had even succumbed to the treatment, dealing with a sore back and shoulder. I asked her if arthritis could be helped. Why not?
So, after talking to therapist Marcie, whose own mother got help with her arthritic joints, I offered up my own bones-on-bones for treatment. Ironically, humans are not her only patients. Horses, dogs, and cats have been helped with this contraption. I checked it out with my trainer first. Even Dr. Oz has promoted it. Okay, the latter holds no weight with me. But my trainer's POV does. Bring it on.
Marcie shows up at your house (the very last person in America to make house calls) with a rolling suitcase that makes it appear she is there to fix your computer. She plugs it in and you have to make sure you're not holding your phone, keys, or any credit cards. She places this plastic-encased coil on the trouble spots and away you go.
There is a knocking sensation as it revs up. Placing it on my right knee sent pulse waves down to the bottom of my feet. My legs twitched as if an over zealous internist was whacking my reflexes repeatedly with his hammer. This occurred over the period of two hours as Marcie searched both my knees for key trigger points. Meanwhile, all the while, I had as pleasant a conversation as I do with my hair stylist.
The result of my first session?
I felt like I was walking on hair. My less troublesome left knee felt great. The right knee was still stiff but less painful. Of course, I undid all of the good work by the end of the day by immediately heading to a three-hour lunch meeting where my right knee was shoved inside a restaurant booth. Ouch.
But, as my trainer has always told me, everything in my body is connected to how my legs operate. So, several weeks later, I asked Marcie to do my entire body...so to speak. She placed this coil strategically all over. My back, my neck, my arms, my ass, my hamstrings. After those two hours, I felt lighter than air. Oddly enough, I had a training session later that day and he usually does some massaging.
"I have never felt you looser in the entire two years I have been working with you."
So there.
Okay, the PEMF therapy is no substitute for the ultimate repair of a bone-on-bone situation. But it can help with all the body parts and, as the kids' song goes, "the right elbow is connected to the right shoulder...tra la." I've now decided to have this treatment done once a month. It can't hurt. Marcie is now officially a member of Team Len, along with my hair stylist, my trainer, my internist, and my portfolio manager. And, oh, if enough currents go through me, maybe I can read in bed at night without turning on the night stand lamp.
Dinner last night: Pepperoni pizza at Gianna's.
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