WARNING: The following piece of prose is for entertainment purposes only (mainly mine ;) This may cause dramatic belief inventory!
I am taking a chance to step out of the proverbial 'box' when it comes to discussion around injuries, training & rehab and going out on a 'Z' as in Z Health rant....I'm sure the termites will protrude from the woodwork with comments on this one.
Scenario began this past Tuesday 6/19/07...
Female elite High School hockey player (we'll call her 'Sam' for now) begins training with me. She came recommended from her coach (who also trains with me...smart coach ;) of the elite team. This female athlete plays for a state semi-finalist team and is on one of two 'elite' female HS hockey teams in the state...of which 99% are recruited to play D-I college hockey.
Insert first comment here: these athletes are considered elite...however, there is a HUGE GAP between where they are and their athletic potential. This is NOT their fault. The fundamentals of all sports have been lost in the pursuit of winning at WAY too young of an age in our country.
Back to regularly scheduled rant...
Sam has a R hip flexor / R groin disfunction causes an 8-9 out of 10 pain level when she skates or does sprints of any kind at this point. We find 3 Z corrective drills that take the pain from level 8-9 to level 2 in about 10 minutes. (This is still Tuesday 6/19/07).
Today, Thursday 6/21/07 Sam opts to keep her orthopedic surgeon (one of the best in the Twin Cities...aren't they all?) which I told her to and report what the doc says today.
2nd comment here: I am not a doctor. Nor do I intend to be. Nor would I want to go to school and intern for 12 years total to conclude something as ludricrous as what is to follow.
Resuming...
The ortho says that she needs an MRI because there might be something wrong with her labrum...Ok fair enough. MRI will happen sometime next week. In the meantime, doc says it could be some torn cartilage that is possibly causing her issues...fair enough.
Doc's prognosis pre-MRI & and not watching her move (as in athletically):
1 Surgery to trim the 'possible' cartilage tear (my take: so she can end her hockey career)
2 Cortizone shot (my take: so she can avoid feeling anything and really injure it worse)
...what an answer and only after spending about 5 minutes talking to her.
Now back to my Z point earlier...
3 Z drills on Tuesday took her from a Level 8-9 pain to a level 2 pain.
Today (Thursday) she returned with a pain level 4 or so. I did some more evaluation. Follow me on this one. As in earlier posts about Z... here are some key points to remember.
1) The body is an 'X' in regards to the way we function as bipeds...backforce transmission happens at the sacroiliac (SI) joint. In English, this means that when I press something with my left hand overhead, my right leg (specifically my glute/med) will act as the main stabilizer.
2) Also 'anything can cause anything'
3) Opposing joints & opposing joint positioning usually correct biomechanical issues (on the surface, however there could be MANY layers to this)
4) Any muscle/connective tissue that crosses a dysfunctional joint (jammed or immobile) will ALSO be dysfunctional...therefore showing up somewhere along the kinetic chain as 'pain'
Back to Sam and a little more about her history. Sam's R Hip Flexor is her main 'pain' problem currently...it showed up in February at the end of hockey season and flared up dramatically during track to point where she was forced to stop track. Sam severely sprained her R ankle about 1 year ago. The ortho said that her ankle has nothing to do with her hip. Are you serious? WTH?! Last time I checked my foot hits the ground when I walk or run and is connected to my torso via my knee and my hip. Maybe I'm just an alien. Sam also shoots hockey LEFT handed. Therefore, her RIGHT side must stabilize EVERY TIME she shoots LEFT handed (which has probably been 30,000+ times in her young career)
Do we have coincidence, Bueller....Bueller?? Maybe some Voo Doo orthopedic surgery? OR mayyyybbbbeeee some Mad Scientist Z neurology 101?
Position of Sam's L arm/hand when she is shooting:
L shoulder = abduction / external rotation
L elbow = slightly bent
L hand = supination
The L shoulder (her shooting arm) is the opposing joint to the R hip (where the problem is occurring).
Another coincidence? I would have to go with 'no.'
Rx = Left arm cross body shoulder circles (adduction / internal rotation / with elbow locked)
This IMMEDIATELY took her out of pain. Not home free yet however. Still having her do lateral tilts and middle/inside toe pulls to help with the former ankle problem as well.
This is what drinking Z Kool aid gets you...cool party tricks to help your clients love you more. It's not always this easy, but more times than not, it is.
There is also a tremendous gap between eastern practices and western medicine is willing to admit or explore and instead continue to appease our instant gratification society (at the same time, who wouldn't like to become pain free in under one hour without going through 3-6 months of rehab??)
Last comment: Sam is caught in the 'middle' of two extremely opposing viewpoints when it comes to her hip and her comment today: "I just wanna be able to skate full speed without pain." She is an extremely intelligent young woman who will make the right decision.
Up for debate. Challenges welcome.
Rant over...for now. Updates to come. Progress ensured.
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4 comments:
Welcome to my world, Brad.
Expect plenty of "that's cool" comments, but many, if not most, will not veer off their paths of banging their heads against their own personal walls.
Just about everyone refuses to believe that relief from pain and performance increases are immediate with Z. Current modalities take at least several treatments if not more to alleviate pain, let alone improve performance, so Z falls into the "if it's too good to be true..." category.
Unfortunately, many in our field are self-perceived experts and wait to see what the "leaders" are doing and then blindly follow. I know, I fell into that trap for a couple of years. Many of the leaders wait for "science" to prove/disprove things such as Z but fail to really delve into hard science and use logic, intuition, and experience to accept the possibility of what may be true dismissing Z and its results as "anecdotal" of course failing to realize that ALL science starts with anecdotes.
Rant over. All that to say, "I'm with ya, buddy."
By the way, great call on the ortho. Seen that way too frequently myself.
I really dislike websites and blogs that turn into a mutual admiration society.
That being said - Gosh, Brad, you sure a swell Z trainer!
As long as I keep complimenting you, will you please not ban me from your blog? Pretty please?
In all seriousness, I can only think of a few reasons why I would ever get or recommend surgery. Cleaning up cartilage isn't one of them.
Thanks for a great Z session on Wednesday. My head was spinning with all the possibilities that lie ahead of me. Good thing I had four hours of uninterupted drive time to ponder everything.
While I don't have the pain/injury issues Sam does, I do have other issues that have held me back from achieving my maximum potential. I've been a weight trainer, aerobic bunny, and even tried a short stint as a runner, but nothing felt right.
Enter the kettlebell. The KB instantly clicked with me. Intuitively, it just felt right. Then I found a great trainer (read: Brad Nelson). This trainer sees something in me I can't see myself and gives me a Z Rx. Not only are my KB workouts better, my attitude is better. Simply put, I feel better.
Brad - I have a new nickname for you. I used to call you "Evil, Evil Kettlebell Man" for your hard ass KB workouts (which I enjoy, by the way). Now I will call you "T-n-T" for "trainer and therapist." I know you're not a "doctor" but for me, your prescriptions have provided more physical and mental therapy than anything I have ever experienced.
Plus, T-n-T is dynamite. You like to blow up worn out theories and destructive ways of thinking, so the nickname is fitting, don't you think? You've blown up my destructive diet and negative self-image.
Now you need to put AC/DC's song "TNT" on your website. ;)
Great info Brad. Keep up the stellar work and spreading the good Z word.
I'ved used the phrase "If you have a full ROM and no pain in any position, do you really have a 'problem?" Probably stole that from Dr. Cobb at some point.
Mike N
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