One of my favourite nights of the week now is Monday night – only because it’s Zumba night. I wrote about it many blogs ago and feel it worthy of another mention because our delightful Nicoletta is off to India for a ‘life experience’? All us girls are hoping like crazy that Nicoletta will come back with lots of Bollywood moves which will in turn lead to a svelte sleek waistline worthy of said Bollywood outfit!
I have come back to talk about the virtues of Nicoletta’s Zumba because I think it has such wonderful attributes for our brain. The fabulous music and keeping to the rhythm; learning the moves, the patterning, great for those brain cells; all the crossing the midline – David Butler of the NOI Group would love the swaying and reaching and twirling; the aerobic component and working up a sweat; but most importantly it is so much FUN. It still makes me smile every week – and we all know how important that is…….and how difficult it is to replicate that on a regular basis.

Now as for the other exercise that I do during the week- you will remember that my local Contours gym had to close and I have joined a mixed gym. There aren’t too many smiles when I am at that gym. I love the opportunity to exercise but I really cannot stand the reverberating of the massive weights dropped from a great height, the constant lifting of excessive weights and the accompanying grunts and groans. Mostly though I can’t  stand  thinking about what is happening to these young, muscle-bound boys/ men – internally!! Rectal prolapse is when the lining of the rectum starts to pull away from the rectal wall and bulges down towards the anus and can protrude out of the anus. It makes defecation difficult, can lead to soiling, bleeding and worse still intractable pain.

Most people associate prolapse as something only caused by childbirth but the gym and lifting excessively (stupid) heavy weights is a common cause of rectal prolapse.
So what would help them? Apart from reducing the heaviness of the weights if they feel something awry down below and perhaps doing more repetitions more slowly, a crucial strategy would be for them to learn how to engage their pelvic floor muscles, specifically their anal sphincter, prior to lifting the weights. There are some really scary photos of rectal prolapse if you google it associated with weight lifting. Too graphic for my blog, but if you have a son, husband, brother or patient who is addicted to the gym can I ask you to do them a favour and show them!
So Nicoletta, have a fabulous, safe ‘life’ experience in India. I will miss Monday nights enormously and am anxious that after 6 weeks I will go back to the ‘unco Zumberer’ I was when I first started. We will all be waiting for you when you get back. xx