Way to go Cappy. Hope this helps you get back in the game
[quote]kmcnyc wrote:
Cappy
sounds like a sound plan.
we are all reading here and supporting you.
Lets see what the DC can do for you.
good luck
kmc[/quote]
Thanks guys! I’m trying to keep my spirits up by reading everyone’s logs. My own life pretty much sucks canal water right now. I’ve tried upper body lifting a few times and it’s horrifically painful … to the point where it’s clear that it’s futile for now. Even simple stuff like making a bed or doing dishes requires my full attention. One wrong move and I’m on my knees whimpering like a baby. Since I’m no stranger to pain, this is a pretty good indication of how messed up this problem is. And the knee ain’t 100% either. So …
With spring here I’m NOT a happy camper. I should have had the horses out at least a dozen times already and I can’t even lift a saddle off the rack. I have trees to plant, gardens to split and a kitchen that needs painting. I can’t do squat. I did OK chilling for about 6 weeks, but I’m starting to hate my limitations with a growing passion.
I go back to the doc on Friday. He warned me that it’s going to be miserable going at first. I don’t care. I found a pretty, alternative driving route through the countryside so armed with a couple of good CDs and at least I’ll enjoy the hour ride there and back.
Crap … (pounds forehead on desk)
Cappy
How is your news?
How was the session?
kmc
Cappy, maybe for a while you might want to transition to Tai Chi for martial arts. Kanazawa did. http://www.fightingmaster.com/legends/kanazawa/index.htm
One of the JKA guys I knew took up Tai Chi after reading Kanazawa’s comments about it and it improved his karate (of course he was at a very high level, but …)
I sure wish you well.
[quote]kmcnyc wrote:
How is your news?
How was the session?
kmc[/quote]
Thanks for asking!
Well, I really like this guy. He’s one hell of an athlete himself and he has a very cool approach.
It should suffice to say that I can take a lot. It’s not that I’m so tough, but I’ve been seeing a massage therapist for over 20 years and she works really, REALLY deep on problem areas. So I’ve been conditioned to having deep work done and I have my own way of getting through the pain of it. I know there are good things waiting for me on the “other side” if I just hang in there and bear with it for a bit.
So when we started yesterday the doc said he would adjust his pressure to my level of tolerance. Let’s just say that when he finished he said he’s never had anyone capable of taking that sort of work in the first few sessions. That said, he only worked on the arm for about 10-12 minutes. (He also worked on the traps a bit. I think these guys really get off when they have someone they can actually DO something with!)
I really don’t think I could have taken much more: it hurt like … well, it was very unpleasant. But before he started working I told him not to try to “read” my facial expressions or breathing and only stop if I actually said “stop.”
Did it help? It doesn’t seem so, but it would be unfair to expect this to turn around in one visit. Yeah, there was a part of me that was fantasizing that it might, but of all people I should know better.
I’ll give it some time and about 4 more visits (2x per week). If it doesn’t start to improve by then, then we’ve agreed that I should get an MRI.
I will say this: If I ever DO get better and can go back to my old lifestyle then I’m keeping this guy in my hip pocket. I think he’s a great find for long-term health and mobility.
Cappy
[quote]Elaikases wrote:
Cappy, maybe for a while you might want to transition to Tai Chi for martial arts.[/quote]
I’ve considered it. Right now I can’t even extend the arm or rotate it without significant pain, so everything is on hold. Maybe if things improve then I can go back to doing something like this. I don’t know. My first priority will be lifting and I will add other activities if I’m able.
Thanks!
Cappy
Glad your doc seems to understand the program. Hopefully in a few weeks it will work in your favor
Second ART appointment yesterday:
Good grief. This is pure torture. Nice guy, but damn, it hurts. He’s very determined. Took about 15-20 minutes, which was plenty IMO! I see no immediate relief or changes. Later that night I just wanted to craw into a cave and gnaw the damn thing off. I’m stretched pretty thin from having every little movement hurt for so long.
Next day: No apparent change upon waking, but as the morning advances I do think I see a minor tweak in the level of pain. (From a max of 10 to maybe about a 7?) The question is, will the first time I use it set me back to square one? It’s not like you can go through the day never using your arm … even just a little. So we’ll see!
Ever hopeful!
Cappy
I suspect it’s a step and an half forward and one back. That’s progress. I’m hopeful you will work back into form again
Sounds like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Sounds like you have a sensible DC, and I agree that these types get excited when they can really work on someone- how often do they get someone who is very athletic and willing to do virtually anything to heal.
good luck
kmc
Cappy - Good to hear you like the ART guy. I think that’s half of it right there!
I didn’t get immediate relief after the first session either, in fact, I thought it agitated my shoulder (at least after and the day after), then it felt better.
I did 4 sessions, too, and look forward to ‘comparing notes’ 
Thanks for the encouragement guys! Always appreciated!
Third visit this morning. I’m almost afraid to say this, but it seems like yesterday there was a very minuscule improvement. I expected it worsen as the day wore on, but it didn’t. Thing is, I’m not doing anything at all with that arm for now, so who knows how it will fare when the weather improves and I get back outside to do a little work? (Not even thinking about lifting again yet…) I’m not planning on pushing it, but this is a farm and I can’t sit here and twiddle my thumbs forever.
Good appointment today. Either it’s getting a little better or I’m getting a higher pain threshold; he didn’t have me almost falling on the floor today. He also worked on my right shoulder, which has been a bit wonky since sometime after this arm thing started. (Probably compensatory or commiserative pain!) That hurt like a bear, but I can already tell it’s going to help.
This guy really does like having someone he can torture!
No more appointments until next Monday. I’ll keep doing legs, abs and cardio and try to pass on all the rest.
Cappy
you are awesome. keep up the work. All the monster huge monster strong guys over at elitefts ALL swear by ART, and those guys do some real damage to themselves! It sounds like its starting to help, and I wish you only the best!
old lardass
Between the 3rd and 4th visit I did see some improvement. Not a huge change, but I was able to do things like take a shirt off, do the dishes and make the bed without it hurting so much that I wanted to break things …
Then yesterday I was training legs. I needed to DL because it’s almost impossible to hold the bar to squat. I thought about asking someone to remove the bar from the rack for me, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I mean, the bar only weighs 45 pounds and I’ve been capable of lifting that since I started 28 years ago. Besides, the arm was feeling a little better. I knew that if I positioned myself properly I could get the bar from the saddles to the floor without a problem.
Wrong!
Like a dumbass, I grabbed the bar with a supinated grip. I just wasn’t thinking and did this from of years of habit. Not that I know for certain that using a pronated grip would have been better … I’m just guessing. (Hindsight is 20/20?) I started to lower the bar from the saddles when suddenly … BAM! … sharp, shooting pain into the bicep! I nearly passed out. There wasn’t any warning or ramp-up, just horrible searing pain. By the time I realized my mistake it was too late, the damage was done.
I finished my workout, but the arm was useless the rest of the day and miserable by evening. I was hoping it might have improved some this AM, but it hasn’t. I see the ART doc again on Friday. I dunno. It’s not looking good. Not to mention that having seen 3 docs (and this doc at $50 a pop) has already cost me a buttload of money, which is a bit tight right now.
It’s not just the inability to lift that’s an issue. I have a bunch of trees I’ve been waiting to transplant and a whole slew of other chores that I’ve postponed for months. The barn is scraped and waiting to be painted and I’ve been holding off on painting my kitchen since December. Thing is, I need my right arm to do stuff.
Cappy
Some free videos to spell you while you can’t roll:
The rolling Triangle Choke
http://lloydirvinlive.com/rolsan.html
Knee On Belly Set Up
http://lloydirvinlive.com/kobtri.html
Triangle From Brabo Grip
http://lloydirvinlive.com/tsbrabo.html
No Arm In Triangle
http://lloydirvinlive.com/noarm.html
Reverse Triangle Choke
http://lloydirvinlive.com/reverse.html
Unorthodox Finish Triangle Choke
http://lloydirvinlive.com/utfin.html
Myself, my wife decided to pull tile yesterday. I was a bit sick (as in sent home from work, spending all day in bed), but she will hurt herself if she uses the jackhammer to clear out the thinset that sticks.
I wish she had waited. Luckily I can miss another day of work today.
Take care of yourself and get better.
Another ART session today. Very uncomfortable stuff.
Hit the gym directly after. Did Chest, shoulders, back by improvising and using different grips or machines when necessary. (Used to using a lot of DBs, but can’t manipulate them into position now) It was OK. Not awesome, great or fantastic … but OK.
Been reduced to taking a lot of ibuprofen. Not much else I can do or report.
I’ve been waiting a month to get in to see a PT who is supposed to be fantastic. I talked to the ART doc about this and he said go for it! I mean, what harm can another opinion do? So I’ll be doing that on Monday. Cha-ching! If all they’re going to do is ice, ultrasound and electric stim, then I can do that with the ART doc and at home. But maybe they have something else to offer? I won’t know unless I go and find out.
Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Cappy
Hang tough Cappy…
progress is progress, but I hear on the feeling futile. It can suck.
Hang tough
kmc
Thanks kmc!
God, it feels great to be sore from lifting, instead of … well … you know …
Cappy
[quote]Capacity wrote:
I’ve been waiting a month to get in to see a PT who is supposed to be fantastic. I talked to the ART doc about this and he said go for it!
[/quote]
I bit the bullet and contacted an orthopedic doc at a sports medicine center. I actually emailed Eric Cressey, who’s near Boston, and asked if he had any recommendations of ‘a shoulder guy’ in Maine so I wouldn’t have to drive 3 hours to Bean-town.
He gave me the name of a guy at this sports med practice who’s a PT/CSCS. After talking to him, he referred me to a doc for the initial assessment. I told him that I’d done ART and while it helped, I still don’t know what’s wrong. Before I start PT, I want to know the problem, or at least what it’s not. That starts with an XRay or MRI.
That’s coming this Thursday.
Good luck to you!!
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Before I start PT, I want to know the problem, or at least what it’s not. That starts with an XRay or MRI.
That’s coming this Thursday.
[/quote]
Which are you doing, the X-ray or MRI?
I have a very high deductible so insurance won’t cover anything until that’s met. I suppose there are many roads that lead there, but at the rate things are going it looks like I’ll get there pretty soon. I was sort of hoping it wouldn’t take so many appointments that I’d actually satisfy the deductible, but I guess it might.
Like you discovered, the ART does help, but (so far) it’s not enough. I’ll go for the PT eval and figure it out from there. Meanwhile, if I load up on Ibuprofen I can lift. I know what to avoid and being able to do something besides legs does wonders for my outlook in general.
Let us know how it goes!
Cappy