Even better, straighten your leg at the Apex of the turn when the g forces are high, so you don't have to use the muscles
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The Physical Therapy / Rehab Thread
- Thread starter Monique
- Start date
I tend to be hyper mobile, but haven't really had any big issues with a need for PT, or at least none that I've given in to.
I probably should seek a PT for (our PT friend calls it Paid Torture) for my shoulder and lower back issues, which probably stem from the ground up.
I tend to be hyper mobile, but haven't really had any big issues with a need for PT, or at least none that I've given in to.
I probably should seek a PT for (our PT friend calls it Paid Torture) for my shoulder and lower back issues, which probably stem from the ground up.
To be fair, I can mitigate most of the issues by keeping all my muscles strong and in balance, but I have a number of long standing minor dysfunctions (lower back is one!) which stem from a combination of joint hypermobility and weak supporting muscles = the body does weird things to achieve stability usually involving seizing up some other muscle
one day I'll get into a proper strength routine, I swear!! Oh, have you ever had the fun experience of being given knee tests as well? I recently tweaked my knee on the slopes and the doctor at the clinic gave me a real fright when she noted some laxity in the affected knee - but then she tested the other knee and determined they were exactly the same - not injury related. Good ol' excess mobility!
LOL. I already tend to hyperextend my left knee, the weak side.
*Sigh* I'm relegated to accessory exercises after a number of things have gone wrong. My trainer said I shouldn't be experiencing joint pain at the end of every "cycle" (currently my workout cycle is three weeks, followed by a rest week). What does he know, right?? I was optimistic when I last saw him that my elbow (see below) would be fine after my current rest week, but that hasn't panned out. He's at Burning Man, so I won't see him for a while ...
My right shoulder has been showing impingement signs on and off - nothing bad, but twinges that can be precursors of bigger issues. My trainer recently acquired the straps from "Crossover Symmetry" and taught me the scapula exercises. I'm supposed to do them after every workout, and they have made a huge difference. I've also found that bench press doesn't bother my shoulder and elbows when I use a ridiculously wide grip.
For my shoulder, I may make the ultimate lifestyle adjustment - I'm looking at changing careers so that I'm no longer at a desk all day. There are other reasons, too, but sitting at a desk has made my shoulders/necks/traps ache and burn for over a decade now. Maybe time to take the hint? (I do have an adjustable desk so that I can stand, and it does help, but like I said - other reasons.)
I did "something" to my elbow. Not lifting, I don't think - possibly getting groceries. Some combination of a particular angle of grip and bent elbow. It's really frustrating. I haven't found anything that helps yet. It's been a few months. Argh. Weirdly - decline bench doesn't bother it at all. Incline bench does, though.
I have something going on a with a groin muscle that's honestly been going on for over a year now. It gets better, it gets worse, and it never goes away. My trainer does have some exercise/stretches that seem to help in the moment.
And my squats went to hell, with one shoulder and hip dipping way far down - I'm now relegated to squatting just the bar with a very tight rubber band just below my knees to remind me to PUSH out. Weirdly, it fixes all the issues. I think this is a pretty common squat disfunction, but I'm not sure why it reappeared after I'd been doing so well.
So, maybe he's not wrong. Some time to get it together. I don't really understand how these accessories are supposed to help, and why I have to give up deadlift for eight weeks (*sniff*), but my trainer always turns out to be right, so I am pursuing on faith. I find it *really* hard to go to the gym (even the one that's right in my house) without the carrot of big lifts.
My right shoulder has been showing impingement signs on and off - nothing bad, but twinges that can be precursors of bigger issues. My trainer recently acquired the straps from "Crossover Symmetry" and taught me the scapula exercises. I'm supposed to do them after every workout, and they have made a huge difference. I've also found that bench press doesn't bother my shoulder and elbows when I use a ridiculously wide grip.
For my shoulder, I may make the ultimate lifestyle adjustment - I'm looking at changing careers so that I'm no longer at a desk all day. There are other reasons, too, but sitting at a desk has made my shoulders/necks/traps ache and burn for over a decade now. Maybe time to take the hint? (I do have an adjustable desk so that I can stand, and it does help, but like I said - other reasons.)
I did "something" to my elbow. Not lifting, I don't think - possibly getting groceries. Some combination of a particular angle of grip and bent elbow. It's really frustrating. I haven't found anything that helps yet. It's been a few months. Argh. Weirdly - decline bench doesn't bother it at all. Incline bench does, though.
I have something going on a with a groin muscle that's honestly been going on for over a year now. It gets better, it gets worse, and it never goes away. My trainer does have some exercise/stretches that seem to help in the moment.
And my squats went to hell, with one shoulder and hip dipping way far down - I'm now relegated to squatting just the bar with a very tight rubber band just below my knees to remind me to PUSH out. Weirdly, it fixes all the issues. I think this is a pretty common squat disfunction, but I'm not sure why it reappeared after I'd been doing so well.
So, maybe he's not wrong. Some time to get it together. I don't really understand how these accessories are supposed to help, and why I have to give up deadlift for eight weeks (*sniff*), but my trainer always turns out to be right, so I am pursuing on faith. I find it *really* hard to go to the gym (even the one that's right in my house) without the carrot of big lifts.
Screenshot of Mikaela Shiffrin Instagram story.
This is me as well. I really have to concentrate to pressure the left ski, and still failing at times.
Something become cognizant of is that doing a few sets of each PT exercise once a day still isnt much. Sure, it’s a huge difference compared to nothing, but still ...
I mentioned ive been doing curtsies, feeling a significant difference between left and right. Yesterday, while walking around a beach resort town, following my family from shop to shop, I played around. Turns out walking on the street, alongside the curb and crossing over with my left foot onto the curb, then rising onto it with the step, is more difficult than doing it in the other direction with the right foot. In fact, even rising with the left leg to place my right foot on the curb is, though not a lot, a greater challenge. Then I tried left footed crossovers walking upstairs. Big difference compared with doing it with my right.
I have the benefit of being able to compare a bad left to a good right to see what makes a difference. But, having used it, I think it will benefit me to incorporate motion patterns, ones that challenge my dysfunction, in my routine activities, of course, not to the point of creating another dysfunction.
I mentioned ive been doing curtsies, feeling a significant difference between left and right. Yesterday, while walking around a beach resort town, following my family from shop to shop, I played around. Turns out walking on the street, alongside the curb and crossing over with my left foot onto the curb, then rising onto it with the step, is more difficult than doing it in the other direction with the right foot. In fact, even rising with the left leg to place my right foot on the curb is, though not a lot, a greater challenge. Then I tried left footed crossovers walking upstairs. Big difference compared with doing it with my right.
I have the benefit of being able to compare a bad left to a good right to see what makes a difference. But, having used it, I think it will benefit me to incorporate motion patterns, ones that challenge my dysfunction, in my routine activities, of course, not to the point of creating another dysfunction.
I've been injured so much that I really was a mess. And I still am after being hit by another ski instructor in January that caused injuries I'm still recovering from. So I've been quite a consumer of PT in the past few years.
There are some other things that I've learned along the way. First of all, I had little to no body awareness. As I was rehabbing from surgery on my ankle, I was encouraged to start Pilates. I found an instructor who had me start on the CoreAlign machine to improve my core stability. I have to say that it was quite transformative. When my instructor went back to school to become a PT, I bought her CoreAlign and run through a bunch of exercises on it regularly. It helps with some of my imbalances, particularly in my hips where I have torn labrums.
After surgery, I was limited in some of my flexibility in my ankle, so my Pilates instructor suggested that I see a PT who specializes in manual therapy. This was an excellent suggestion, and given the impact I usually place on my aging body (>100 days of skiing a year), I found it quite useful to engage in maintenance visits to the PT every other week or so. My PT also had me start working on flexibility and agility. I think these have made a significant difference in my skiing.
Personally, I think that too many people think of training as time in the gym or doing whatever sport they are engaged in. But there's a lot more to functional movement than strength training, cardio training, or sport specific training. Functional movement training can address imbalances in the body. And as we age, it becomes ever more important to spend quality time working on flexibility.
Mike
There are some other things that I've learned along the way. First of all, I had little to no body awareness. As I was rehabbing from surgery on my ankle, I was encouraged to start Pilates. I found an instructor who had me start on the CoreAlign machine to improve my core stability. I have to say that it was quite transformative. When my instructor went back to school to become a PT, I bought her CoreAlign and run through a bunch of exercises on it regularly. It helps with some of my imbalances, particularly in my hips where I have torn labrums.
After surgery, I was limited in some of my flexibility in my ankle, so my Pilates instructor suggested that I see a PT who specializes in manual therapy. This was an excellent suggestion, and given the impact I usually place on my aging body (>100 days of skiing a year), I found it quite useful to engage in maintenance visits to the PT every other week or so. My PT also had me start working on flexibility and agility. I think these have made a significant difference in my skiing.
Personally, I think that too many people think of training as time in the gym or doing whatever sport they are engaged in. But there's a lot more to functional movement than strength training, cardio training, or sport specific training. Functional movement training can address imbalances in the body. And as we age, it becomes ever more important to spend quality time working on flexibility.
Mike
I am two visits in to a PT who I think is going to change my life as far as my long-term annoying back pain is concerned. Already feeling a difference, which is great, because it's only going to help as we both (me and my body) get older! He's teaching me to walk differently - feels weird right now, but if it's the solution it's obviously something I’ll do all the time. And that’s better than exercises I would have to remember to keep doing and would eventually, inevitably stop doing.
As far as I’m concerned, physical therapists are amazing.
As far as I’m concerned, physical therapists are amazing.
QFT.
After being in some despair about my elbow, it suddenly felt a lot better one morning - right as the shoulder on the same side developed an issue. Possibly related? Who knows. My trainer is at Burning Man. I backed WAY off. Now both feel about 95%. Fingers crossed.
I've been gaining some belly fat, and in what must be sheer coincidence, body weight exercises are getting a lot harder.
I've been gaining some belly fat, and in what must be sheer coincidence, body weight exercises are getting a lot harder.
Been in & out of PT since early April for knee injury. I’m quasi-satisfied but not enamored with my PT, and it’s been kinda static for 10 weeks. Nothing new, nothing interesting, just feel like I’ve pissed away the benefit. The PT relationship was very transactional. But I didn’t speak up, I just went along with it. Now on the other hand I’ve maxed out my insurances PT benefits. In a quandary what to do next..
^ sorry to hear this. This is one of the reasons I’ll often wrap up with “are ya getting what ya need from me?”
If you’re ever in Vermont- pop in to see me!
I think half an hour is just really not enough time to go over what's happened since last time, do some sort of in-person eval, do some manual manipulation, and also give new exercises. I always come out of PT sessions feeling like I wanted more info or more treatment =/
Our local rec center has hand cycles. Can you swim but not kick or is that too much movement?
How about swimming using a pull buoy?
I used a hand cycle last summer after foot surgery, but I had to search for a gym that had one and it was boring! It did seem to strengthen my shoulders for swimming though.
What did you doctor say? And what specific limitations did they put on you?
I used the hand cycle when I was on restriction, but I did inquire of both the doctor and PT what would be allowed.
Stay within limits and you will recover more quickly...
Mike
I used the hand cycle when I was on restriction, but I did inquire of both the doctor and PT what would be allowed.
Stay within limits and you will recover more quickly...
Mike
Yesterday doc okayed swimming w/o kick -- but got a call from radiologist this morning and now that is out too. Cycling, walking beyond necessary, and (obviously) running are all out.
Not a member of a gym currently but will have to explore options.
Not a member of a gym currently but will have to explore options.
Well, that sucks. But this might be a time to work on strength training for the parts of the body that are not off-limits. Take it easy, follow the restrictions, hit the PT hard, and while you might lose some cardiovascular training, it will come back. Just don't fudge yourself up by pursuing too much independent study.
Mike