My saga of injury recovery
Posted 07-21-2015 at 10:42 PM by caligirlz
Updated 07-21-2015 at 10:54 PM by caligirlz (update info)
Updated 07-21-2015 at 10:54 PM by caligirlz (update info)
Since I get asked this question a lot, I thought I'd go ahead & summarize some of my posts here for easier access.
2/3/14 post
https://www.city-data.com/forum/exercise-fitness/2042656-training-injury.html
My injury history includes, 2 back surgeries, Carpel tunnel syndrome (no surgery), a torn medial meniscus in 10/2013 (no surgery), and a lot of overall flexibility issues. About 10 years after my 2nd back surgery (L5-S1 fusion), I developed chronic pain (fibromyalgia), and was doing mainly cardio, but I could not increase my distance or speed without a flare up of pain. My insurance denied an MRI of my shoulder, so I decided to rehab myself, and this is what I did:
1) reformer Pilates
2) physical therapy with someone trained in manual therapy (Myofascial tissue release)
3) learned to do self Myofascial release following The Alexander Method of SMR working my way up from the white foam roller, and now using the rumble roller & beastie ball. Network Fitness | Bringing It All Together -- SMR, Functional Movement, Products & Education
4) I graduated from PT & Pilates and started weight lifting, first with a personal trainer who came to my home, and now I'm at a strength & conditioning old school style gym
5) To deal with the flexibility issues, I get routine (monthly) massage with someone trained in Myofascial release
6) also started receiving NKT www.neurokinectictherapy.com treatment. This has been a huge, mindblower, help this past year to retrain the muscles/nerves from the old dysfunctional patterns, to how the muscle is actually supposed to work. As our local therapist gets more known, it is increasingly difficult & costly to see him, so I make do with all my other tools (& what I've learned from him).
7) I also follow the teachings of Dr Perry Nicholson of Stop Chasing Pain & Dr Kathy Dooley http://www.drdooleynoted.com/
8) still working with an exercise specialist/physical therapist at my gym
9) changed my diet to no sugar, no diary, no gluten - wow, what a huge change in strength, flexibility, and muscle recovery. No more DOMS!!
10) Oh, forgot to mention, had a functional movement screen (FMS) about a year ago, to get a better idea of my limitations, and then have a baseline for future comparisons. I think my score was a 9 (out of 21). it was low.
11) I always keep working out...and modified when necessary. Last year, in Oct-Dec, I regressed to body weight squats to work on my form & work through flexibility issues. I never really thought it was wise to squat after 2 back surgeries, but as long as I can maintain proper form, I will continue.
12) I forgot to mention, my new go to foam roller is the rumble roller & the beast ball, both available from either Network Fitness | Bringing It All Together -- SMR, Functional Movement, Products & Education or http://www.rumbleroller.com/ They can be ordered from amazon, but you have to make sure it's not a fake b/c they don't work as good. I especially love the beastie bar, it's like the old "the stick" but it actually works.
In Feb 2014, I injured my shoulder while bench pressing 55 b dumbbells. It's been a slow recovery, but I'm finally back on track at about 85-90% upper body/overhead movement capacity. I am bench pressing again. Mainly with the barbell.
Then last night when I was doing db bench presses at my top weight (55 lb), I got the dumbbell too low on my left side, and I could not press it up by myself. The trainer had to assist me. It was really annoying. Tonight I had a massage, and the left shoulder was way worse than the right. The therapist was attempting some orthopedic manipulation of the head of the humerus in the shoulder socket, but it was apparent there was some type of restriction. It sounds like I still have some "frozen shoulder" although, she said no, she keep saying capsulitis, which is the same thing. The good thing is, it doesn't hurt, but I do have limited range of motion. I can't raise my arm above my head without the scapula (shoulder blade) moving up. In normal range, one should be able to do this while holding the shoulder blade still.
So...off I go to see the physical therapist again and once again was told that I'm on the side of serious dysfunctional movement of my shoulders...but they are always amazed at how much I can do. He told me hang cleans won't be my friend in the long run, but I told him, I would continue doing everything I currently am doing. He said he liked my passion. Just tonight some random guy complimented me on my strength, said he saw me doing DL & dips, kept saying how strong I was, geez....It took 2 years to get from 1 dip & nearly knocking the whole dip contraption over, to doing 57 tonight.
2/25/14
I blew out my right shoulder benching yesterday.
I could not raise my arm laterally or forward, and getting dressed was very difficult.
I got evaluated today by my NKT guy. He determined that I had a stability issue as evidenced by right shoulder pain after barbell benches the previous week. I wasn't completely recovered yesterday when I was attempted to lift weights that had been easy (50 lb db) when exhausted due to lack of sleep & coffee-fueled energy. My left upper trapezius and right supraspinatous muscle were doing all the work of the shoulder, compensating, for the muscles that weren't working, the anterior deltoid, middle deltoid, serratus, lats and supraspinatous. And I had a bad strain of the supraspinatous tendon.
3/6/14
I am so thrilled! just got home from the gym & appointment with the PT.
I've regained 90% of normal mobility of right shoulder. Funny, right shoulder has better range of motion than left. I still have some muscular tightness & pain in the right deltoid. However, I have near perfect mobility when my scapula (shoulder blades) are stable. When one is unable to maintain proper scapular stability, the head of the femur rotates & pushes forward, making "shoulder" (& supportive muscle) injuries more common.
The latest, cutting edge research is all about primal movement reprogramming. And the most basic movement is about breathing & the diaphragm, then all about the core, not just the abds, but all the muscles that connect to the spine in the torso region. That is exactly what Dr Perry Nicholson of Stop Chasing Pain and FMS proponents (Gray Cook founder) teach. That is the other work I've been doing with my Neurokinetic Therapy practitioner!!
So, he showed me 4 movement patterns in which he broke down the movement into respective increments, and then we put the pieces together. During the breakdown phase, he would briskly but lightly brush the targeted area, and if needed he assisted me with the movement until I could do it on my own. It was really powerful. Here's the basics 4, but I don't think I can do justice to the explanation. I Have seen these exercises posted online by the mobility vs stability, and NKT experts.
1) quadra-ped patterning
2) quadra-ped movement
3) lateral rolling
4) side chop
I still have a modified workout, still no pushing, but I'm so excited the situation is not what it seemed.
7/21/15
It's been a while, I'm still dealing with that pesky shoulder. Apparently, I've been testing the waters of higher weights when my shoulder really isn't up to it. I've been pressing just the 45 lb bar for months now, so boring. Tonight, I increased to 60 lbs. But, I've also been doing a lot of other supportive work like turkish get ups. Working on stability. I guess the silver lining, other older folk in my gym, including some of the trainers are overcoming their shoulder issues with high volume, low weight kettlebell work. If they can do it, so can I.
Oh, and I'm now 54. So, with the right tools and attitude, one can overcome chronic injury, sometimes slowly sometimes quickly I'm trying to enjoy the journey.
2/3/14 post
https://www.city-data.com/forum/exercise-fitness/2042656-training-injury.html
My injury history includes, 2 back surgeries, Carpel tunnel syndrome (no surgery), a torn medial meniscus in 10/2013 (no surgery), and a lot of overall flexibility issues. About 10 years after my 2nd back surgery (L5-S1 fusion), I developed chronic pain (fibromyalgia), and was doing mainly cardio, but I could not increase my distance or speed without a flare up of pain. My insurance denied an MRI of my shoulder, so I decided to rehab myself, and this is what I did:
1) reformer Pilates
2) physical therapy with someone trained in manual therapy (Myofascial tissue release)
3) learned to do self Myofascial release following The Alexander Method of SMR working my way up from the white foam roller, and now using the rumble roller & beastie ball. Network Fitness | Bringing It All Together -- SMR, Functional Movement, Products & Education
4) I graduated from PT & Pilates and started weight lifting, first with a personal trainer who came to my home, and now I'm at a strength & conditioning old school style gym
5) To deal with the flexibility issues, I get routine (monthly) massage with someone trained in Myofascial release
6) also started receiving NKT www.neurokinectictherapy.com treatment. This has been a huge, mindblower, help this past year to retrain the muscles/nerves from the old dysfunctional patterns, to how the muscle is actually supposed to work. As our local therapist gets more known, it is increasingly difficult & costly to see him, so I make do with all my other tools (& what I've learned from him).
7) I also follow the teachings of Dr Perry Nicholson of Stop Chasing Pain & Dr Kathy Dooley http://www.drdooleynoted.com/
8) still working with an exercise specialist/physical therapist at my gym
9) changed my diet to no sugar, no diary, no gluten - wow, what a huge change in strength, flexibility, and muscle recovery. No more DOMS!!
10) Oh, forgot to mention, had a functional movement screen (FMS) about a year ago, to get a better idea of my limitations, and then have a baseline for future comparisons. I think my score was a 9 (out of 21). it was low.
11) I always keep working out...and modified when necessary. Last year, in Oct-Dec, I regressed to body weight squats to work on my form & work through flexibility issues. I never really thought it was wise to squat after 2 back surgeries, but as long as I can maintain proper form, I will continue.
12) I forgot to mention, my new go to foam roller is the rumble roller & the beast ball, both available from either Network Fitness | Bringing It All Together -- SMR, Functional Movement, Products & Education or http://www.rumbleroller.com/ They can be ordered from amazon, but you have to make sure it's not a fake b/c they don't work as good. I especially love the beastie bar, it's like the old "the stick" but it actually works.
In Feb 2014, I injured my shoulder while bench pressing 55 b dumbbells. It's been a slow recovery, but I'm finally back on track at about 85-90% upper body/overhead movement capacity. I am bench pressing again. Mainly with the barbell.
Then last night when I was doing db bench presses at my top weight (55 lb), I got the dumbbell too low on my left side, and I could not press it up by myself. The trainer had to assist me. It was really annoying. Tonight I had a massage, and the left shoulder was way worse than the right. The therapist was attempting some orthopedic manipulation of the head of the humerus in the shoulder socket, but it was apparent there was some type of restriction. It sounds like I still have some "frozen shoulder" although, she said no, she keep saying capsulitis, which is the same thing. The good thing is, it doesn't hurt, but I do have limited range of motion. I can't raise my arm above my head without the scapula (shoulder blade) moving up. In normal range, one should be able to do this while holding the shoulder blade still.
So...off I go to see the physical therapist again and once again was told that I'm on the side of serious dysfunctional movement of my shoulders...but they are always amazed at how much I can do. He told me hang cleans won't be my friend in the long run, but I told him, I would continue doing everything I currently am doing. He said he liked my passion. Just tonight some random guy complimented me on my strength, said he saw me doing DL & dips, kept saying how strong I was, geez....It took 2 years to get from 1 dip & nearly knocking the whole dip contraption over, to doing 57 tonight.
2/25/14
I blew out my right shoulder benching yesterday.
I could not raise my arm laterally or forward, and getting dressed was very difficult.
I got evaluated today by my NKT guy. He determined that I had a stability issue as evidenced by right shoulder pain after barbell benches the previous week. I wasn't completely recovered yesterday when I was attempted to lift weights that had been easy (50 lb db) when exhausted due to lack of sleep & coffee-fueled energy. My left upper trapezius and right supraspinatous muscle were doing all the work of the shoulder, compensating, for the muscles that weren't working, the anterior deltoid, middle deltoid, serratus, lats and supraspinatous. And I had a bad strain of the supraspinatous tendon.
3/6/14
I am so thrilled! just got home from the gym & appointment with the PT.
I've regained 90% of normal mobility of right shoulder. Funny, right shoulder has better range of motion than left. I still have some muscular tightness & pain in the right deltoid. However, I have near perfect mobility when my scapula (shoulder blades) are stable. When one is unable to maintain proper scapular stability, the head of the femur rotates & pushes forward, making "shoulder" (& supportive muscle) injuries more common.
The latest, cutting edge research is all about primal movement reprogramming. And the most basic movement is about breathing & the diaphragm, then all about the core, not just the abds, but all the muscles that connect to the spine in the torso region. That is exactly what Dr Perry Nicholson of Stop Chasing Pain and FMS proponents (Gray Cook founder) teach. That is the other work I've been doing with my Neurokinetic Therapy practitioner!!
So, he showed me 4 movement patterns in which he broke down the movement into respective increments, and then we put the pieces together. During the breakdown phase, he would briskly but lightly brush the targeted area, and if needed he assisted me with the movement until I could do it on my own. It was really powerful. Here's the basics 4, but I don't think I can do justice to the explanation. I Have seen these exercises posted online by the mobility vs stability, and NKT experts.
1) quadra-ped patterning
2) quadra-ped movement
3) lateral rolling
4) side chop
I still have a modified workout, still no pushing, but I'm so excited the situation is not what it seemed.
7/21/15
It's been a while, I'm still dealing with that pesky shoulder. Apparently, I've been testing the waters of higher weights when my shoulder really isn't up to it. I've been pressing just the 45 lb bar for months now, so boring. Tonight, I increased to 60 lbs. But, I've also been doing a lot of other supportive work like turkish get ups. Working on stability. I guess the silver lining, other older folk in my gym, including some of the trainers are overcoming their shoulder issues with high volume, low weight kettlebell work. If they can do it, so can I.
Oh, and I'm now 54. So, with the right tools and attitude, one can overcome chronic injury, sometimes slowly sometimes quickly I'm trying to enjoy the journey.
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