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  • 01/30/2014 at 8:05 pm in reply to: Calling all Marc Pro Users #73999
    AvatarVirginie Lehmann
    Participant

    Oh yeah…it would, no doubt, be quite the scene…lol.

    A couple of quotes in regard to your wishing me luck;
    “Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.”  Seneca

    “The day you decide to do, it is your lucky day.” Japanese Proverb

    That’s how I roll with luck :o) 
    01/30/2014 at 5:11 pm in reply to: Calling all Marc Pro Users #73996
    AvatarVirginie Lehmann
    Participant

    You’re right on David. I do most of that between feet …out of necessity. Move around, drink some water, stretch out the anterior chain as much as possible. I could do a video on using an anvil to mobilize…lol. However, I would have draw the line at ball smash mobs because, no matter how I tried to explain it, the wealthy ladies would likely not understand why the Farrier is grinding around on the floor or against the wall and apparently having a seizure of some sort :o). Would be effective though…

    These days I do less volume and higher quality work. I’m lucky to be able to pick and choose what and how much I do. My clients know of my limitations and take good care of me so, I am blessed in that regard. The rest of this is just about my drive to overcome and excel personally. I don’t do ‘can’t’ well at all… :o).
    Will def tinker with protein intake and let you know how I fare. Thanks again for your time and thoughtful advise! Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones… No?
    01/30/2014 at 2:23 pm in reply to: Calling all Marc Pro Users #73990
    AvatarVirginie Lehmann
    Participant

    Thank you Kaitlin. Yes, I am clear on the differences between the TENS and Marc Pro. (See above) I used the TENS to prop up my bad behavior for some time. At least until ‘shocking’ myself into spinal support no longer had the desired effect…lol. 

    I appreciate the overview and am intrigued. I’m going to look into the blood panel suggested by David and just see if there may be a missing piece to the puzzle there. Can’t hurt. 
    I will continue to ask questions and look into the Marc Pro as well. Generally I’m not big on gimmicks and gadgets but I’m sensing that this one may be an effective tool to help get me over the occasional ‘hump’. I’m thinking this may help with the residual stiffness/soreness in my high hamstrings, glutes and, sometimes TFL. (See work history above) I tend to be over stretched in the hip/trunk extensors and shortened in the flexors. Same as sitting but on steroids… The mobility work has been awesome for me and I have returned almost all of the muscle balance and ROM through these techniques and lifting. What I’m interested in is shortening the recovery curve and being able to better maintain the mobility that I am working so hard for. Case in point; When I am a little tight from a busy morning at work, come home, warm up and do a heavy lifting cycle, I am going to be really sore in the hamstring origin at the ischium, the glutes (Particularly glute med for some reason, origin to insertion). Maybe it has to do with form as I’m sure it’s not perfect. I do know it’s not too bad though as I have small window for preventing error/injury. Anyhoo, I’m pretty well shredded back there and I understand the muscles need time to heal before being heavily tasked again. But…I’m back under a horse again bright and early the next morning, pulling on the already stressed tissue. 
    Now, during this recovery phase I am really tight and def don’t have full ROM. I can however get on a LAX ball or supernova, do some banded distraction work and mobilize myself quite nicely…for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then I’m all stiff and jacked up again. The claims made by the Marc Pro peeps and the theory behind the function of it make sense to me with facilitating the flushing of the tissue and creating space for nutrients to come in. Understand that I am not looking to this as a ‘super fixer’…just maybe an edge to shorten the healing process and, if the claims are true, actually, with proper consistent use make the muscles’ ability to recover more efficient and effective.
    Am I on the right track here? 
    01/30/2014 at 1:13 pm in reply to: Calling all Marc Pro Users #73987
    AvatarVirginie Lehmann
    Participant

    Yes and it has helped exponentially but there is only so much I can do. I am a big guy (6’3″/200#) trying to fit in a small place, working with a subject that has it’s own opinions of what’s going on. Most that I do are good to work with. In fact, I reserve the right to refuse the unruly ones because I’m no longer willing to risk injury by being jerked and snatched on… Through my 28 yrs in the biz, I have earned my way to the top of the food chain. I do high end hunters and jumpers. They are the Olympic athletes of their realm (in a few cases, quite literally). As such, they deal with injury, aches, pains and mobility issues the same way we do as athletes. Only they can’t verbalize their complaints. When they come home from a lengthy, arduous road trip they will be stiff, sore, perhaps a little tweaked somewhere, or just generally jaded and tired, particularly the older, high mileage horses. That said, I have to compromise my position at times to keep the patient comfortable and standing quietly. If you flex or extend the sore joint too much, best case scenario would be the equivalent of trying to hold up the rear end of a Volvo with the parking brake released…worst case, you get you head taken off :o). Gotta show ’em some respect and they’ll give it back to you.

    I have made progress with body position for sure and notice immediately when I get tired or distracted and default to bad position. So, that is good. The strength training has helped better than I could have hoped for being able to support good position longer. Frankly, I’m pleasantly shocked at the volume of weight I’m able to lift now. Never expected to be able to do loaded squats or deadlifts again either but, here I am, squatting a solid 250# and deadlifting just over 300#…and still climbing.  
    It’s a constant and challenging side program to run in my head while working. I’ve got 28 yrs. of faulty neural pathways to over ride and create new, more efficient ones. I’ve only been at this new game of functional levers and pulleys for a short time. Up to that point I had been literally ‘hanging on the meat’. It was the pain, dysfunction and the threat of losing a lucrative career in an already shrinking economy that drove me in the search for solutions. Strange that I could see it in the horses so well but not in myself. I guess because I was “Superman” and my body could buffer the bad habits… Pay attention out there youngsters. The Piper will someday visit you with a bill. How large it is is up to you.
    LOL…too much coffee this morning. The simple answer to your last question David is…yes. :o)
    Will def read up on the info you recommended too. Many thanks!
    01/30/2014 at 11:18 am in reply to: Calling all Marc Pro Users #73984
    AvatarVirginie Lehmann
    Participant

    Thanks David. Good points all. 

    Sleep habits are good. Bed is good.
    Work to keep the stress levels low (although, some days are better than others <lol>).
    Diet is healthy and solid, could prob increase protein intake a notch (Yes, I’m on the shady side of 50 :o)). No junk/processed intake. Always room for improvement here though.
    Up to speed on quality vitamins/ minerals and such. Work with an herbalist friend who advises me on what, how much, and when.
    Anal retentive about proper hydration…
    Has been awhile since I’ve had a blood panel done. Should do that and establish a baseline for sure. May shine a light on something I’m missing. Thanks for that…
    12/19/2013 at 4:40 pm in reply to: SI Joint/L1 L4 L5 Problems for the past 8 years! Please Help Me! #73517
    AvatarVirginie Lehmann
    Participant

    Wow Dovey, I’m truly flattered but I wouldn’t presume to know enough about you to recommend any plan or protocol for “attack”.  For me, there are more than a few pieces to consider.  Reading your posts I can get a slight feel for some but, would still just be guess work on my part. I’m not a fan of guessing when it comes to another person’s health.  For instance, what is your body type?, what is your temperament type?, what is your emotional state?, what is your activity level?, what are your diet and sleep habits?, what is your work environment?, what is your relationship status?, what is your financial status?, and the list goes on… These are all important parts to understanding what makes a person tick and assessing probable reasons for why they are struggling with chronic injury(s) of this type.  Acute injury is far more easy to deal with from this perspective. There is damaged tissue, treat it to facilitate healing in those tissues and get them on their feet and going again. No big.

    There have been more than enough suggestions posted on this string and a myriad of videos on this site offering sound advise and pertinent information for you to build your own protocol. Honestly, I would not add anything to the list as these guys are pros and I think they are very good at what they do. No need for me to toot my horn in this crowd :o).
    That said, I feel you brother… If you are anything like I was, you want answers, you want a program, you need something to do!  “Somebody please tell me what to do to fix this damn thing so I can get on with my life. I’ve got things to do!”. That was me. Well, in my case (and I’m sure yours  too.), the answers were within me. I just had to find them…and I did it the hard way. I don’t recommend it but now that I look back I wouldn’t trade the experience and enlightenment for anything.  I had many helpers along the way but in the end no one could do it for me…it was my path.  Read the book bro. I won’t spoil it for you but, I will say that the concept is so disgustingly simple that it will blow your mind. The difficulty lies within the journey to the embodiment of said concept. Embrace the journey my friend… The message you come away with may be different from mine but I guarantee you will learn something useful about yourself.
    From tactical point of view I would suggest finding a coach or trainer. One who has some experience and that you can sync with. Get some help with your body mechanics and ROM issues. Don’t get in a rush to “fix” yourself. These issues have been in development with you for a long time. It’s gonna take some time to retrain yourself. Accept it. It’ll make the journey much more fun.  Don’t see this thing as your nemesis, your enemy. Don’t train with the idea of making it your “bitch”…that “bitch” will bite you. Learn to see it as your teacher. Your body is trying to teach you something…listen. Do your due diligence for sure but remember to look for the deeper lessons as well.
    Sorry for the existentialism. I doubt that is what you wanted to hear but from my experience these are a few of the things that helped me get through the worst of my bouts.  I’ve by no means conquered this but I am managing it and probably in the best shape I’ve been in 10 years. I very seldom tweak the SI doing physical stuff anymore but I can tell you for sure that if I let myself get upset and stress over something, within short order my left QL will start to twitch and seize. After that, if I don’t rein in that source of stress I’ll be “Crooked as a dog’s hind leg” (as my dad would say…lol). From there, it’s a short hop to making that “just right” movement and screwing the pooch. For me, recognizing the warning signals in time to head off the pain/inflammation cycle is key. Once I’ve entered the “pain cave” and everything gets stirred up, well, I just have to ride it out and wait for it to calm down before I can begin to treat it. Sucks. Here’s the catch, at least for me. Took me a long time to figure this out. I think most of my bouts were about the SI giving out under pressure. Well, Duh, right?  I reasoned that I “did” something mechanically to cause it. Sometimes I did, sometimes not so much.  I talk to people all the time that say the same thing. Makes sense, right? Well, why was I continuing to have the same problem even when I wasn’t doing the things that aggravated it? Then comes the excuse, Well, I just have a bad back… When you embrace that statement, which, BTW most medical professionals will support and reinforce, guess what? You have a bad back!!  Your body responds to your thoughts and comments…and those that others make in reference to you as well.
    The body has an amazing capacity to heal itself, phenomenal. I threw out the “bad back” scenario from my lexicon. I know longer have a “bad back” nor will I allow anyone to speak that to me. I have a strong back! I sometimes use poor body mechanics and am lazy with my posture which sometimes causes problems but, these are things I can correct. So I do. Thus creating new neural pathways and regenerating positive mental and physical inertia. Your body is using the famous line from Jerry Macguire, “Help me help you!”
    So, what do I do fitness wise? I lift heavy weights, compound exercises, powerlifting stuff. I paddle board, cycle (a little), walk with a 20 to 30 Lb backpack, do a combination of yoga, active isolated stretching, and the mobiltyWOD stuff found here. I focus more on technique than lbs added and am able to squat a fair amount of weight for an old guy who never thought he’d be able to do weighted squats again. I don’t max on my squat because I work out alone and don’t want to get in a bind and hurt myself.  According to my working weight I should be able to max in the 240 to 250lb range. Small potatoes in this crowd but I’m pleased.  At 51, I don’t produce the hormones that I once did so, sometimes recovery is an issue. I give myself plenty of time before I push hard again, trying to catch the right spot in the recovery curve. I listen to my body and trust it to know when, where and how much. So my regimen tends to be more fluid than linear. It’s what works for me.
    I hope this helps you some. Sorry for sermonizing… :o)
    11/04/2013 at 11:17 am in reply to: SI Joint/L1 L4 L5 Problems for the past 8 years! Please Help Me! #73113
    AvatarVirginie Lehmann
    Participant

    Hi guys! I’m brand new to this forum and as I’m reading through thread titles I see this one and can immediately connect with what Dovey 13 is dealing with. If you’ll indulge me,I’d love to share a bit of my humbling experience, as I have been dancing with this littoral “pain in the ass” for 30 yrs. I will endeavor to keep my short story from become long :o).

    Just for a little background, I have been a Farrier for 28 yrs. That is, I’m a professional horseshoer/blacksmith. I am also a LMT,CST,CKTP. My delving into a side career as a bodyworker stemmed directly from my quest to better understand how to keep myself put together and in the game. It has been quite the journey of discovery.
    At 6’3″ 195#, I’m built more like a 440 hurdler than for being under a horse so, one can imagine the horrible body mechanics that ensued. In my 20’s and early 30’s I met it head on, much as you are doing. I was young, strong and hard headed. Pain is weakness leaving the body…right? So, I gutted it out. Eventually, it took me down…hard. 
    Everyone has a bit of advice. Docs offer cocktails of pain killers and muscle relaxers, bed rest or maybe a bit of traction/decompression. These tactics may temporarily get one out of the woods but they don’t attack the source. When, sooner or later, these things fail, then comes the steroid injections and or surgical intervention. Thankfully, I never opted for the latter. The same basic theme continued for me through other, alternative practitioners and disciplines. Found help here and there but never cracked it and got to the source.
    Without digressing further into other therapies and approaches that we’re all familiar with, let me just say that, in my experience and humble opinion, the information/advise given previously on this thread and that is taught throughout this website is absolutely spot on.  It is awesome too find the tools along with sound, thoughtful advice to help answer the questions – What? Where? Why? and How?. Priceless.
    The only thing I would add is to expand on a piece offered earlier in this thread by Marc Hansen. Stress. For me it was the lynchpin. My achilles heel, so to speak. Took me years and a lot of pain to finally come to terms with it. Early in my dance with this particular malady my body could find “work arounds” to physically compensate for the lacks. The whole time I was non-consciencously building “disconnects” and mental walls around my left SI joint. As you stated in your original post, “It is running my life…”. When I came to that realization, I understood that I had embraced this as a problem and thus it ran it’s tentacles into every decision I made and every corner of my life. What I couldn’t understand was how , as an athletic, fit, healthy male, I could be so limited and unable to fully function. The harder I fought it, the more deeply ingrained it became in my psyche…thus, the more it controlled my every decision. Stress. I did not know how to undo it…
    While there have been several “Aha” moments for me where I thought I’d found the solution, I look back now and realize that most were just pieces to the puzzle…tools to add to my personal toolbox. One of the larger of those pieces for me and what I would call a game changer was a book a friend gave me titled ‘Healing Back Pain’ by Dr. John Sarno. I would heartily recommend it to you. I laugh as I remember the friend who recommended it to me. Super guy but a little off the chart into metaphysics. I thought, “Oh God, this is going to be some treatise on how to channel alien life forms and chant bizarre mantras”…lol. Turns out it is a practical study (loaded with scientific blind studies) by a top spinal surgeon, on how the spine functions and specifically, how stress manifests physiologically around the spine. Inexpensive book, easy read, written in layman’s terms. You won’t find a better bargain.
    I apologize for running on and in closing I would reiterate a resounding yes to the above comments on meeting and dealing with the physical aspects of your challenge. Try all of them. Some will work better that others for you and some will work at different time and stages of your progression. Tools for your tool box. Consider as well the mind-body connection. I’m reasonably sure you will find it to be a critical piece in your journey to full function and wellness. One last bit of advise…don’t stress over finding the source of your stress :o). Don’t ask how I know about this…lol. Best of luck to you!
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