This shoulder of mine is killing me again. The beautifully applied tape you see in the pic is part of the treatment I'm getting from my chiropractor. It's called Kinesio Tape and can be used for many different problems, like pain, reduction of movement, joint distortions, sport injuries, arthritis, spinal problems, muscular tension and so forth. If you know anything about anatomy, by looking at the location and form of the tape, you might come to the conclusion that the taped muscles are Supraspinatus, Deltoid and Levator scapulea. These are the ones that have been bothering me the most, but also the Rotator cuff has been a bit annoying.
The tape sticks for about 7-10 days and now we are in a stage of the treatment plan when I see the chiro every three or four weeks. The last ones I got came of on Saturday (after heavy sweating in morning practice?). This means I will be without the tape for a couple of weeks before new ones are applied again.
One thing that really seem to ease the pain is to keep the chest open. I have to constantly remind myself, especially when sitting by the computer at my desk at work. Focusing on the heart and chest, keeping the image of the heart striving towards the sky, automatically makes the muscles in the shoulders and back relax. I need a new chair, though, 'cause the one I have make me slouch. Wasn't DZM discussing work chairs a while ago? I've found one that seems very cool, Capisco, that follows your body's movements. You can turn it and sit backwards with the back of the chair against your chest, and you can raise it and stand slightly leaning on it like in a saddle.
Anyways, the shoulder have been quite ok for a month now, so I wasn't really prepared that it would start bothering me this much again. Maybe I overdid it this weekend, despite my caution? I might have to modify even more? Petri mentioned that he had a shoulder injury a few years ago. Of course he kept up his practice. But for example, he did not do Chaturanga Dandasana bending the arms, and instead going right into Urdhva Mukah Svanasana with strait arms. I think that's what I'll try and see if there is any change.
Oh, and 'summer' is over, at least for now. After a fabulous weekend, temperature dropped from 77 to 41. In the suburbs it was really cold last night and a colleague of mine said there was frost on his lawn this morning, so it must have been at least 32 there. And now it's raining. Blah.
15 comments:
It's good you and I don't practice in the same space. I don't think I would be able to stop myself from staring at all your tape.
driste, Carl, you need to practice driste.
Are you acquainted with these two countrymen of yours?
how do you find stuff like this Carl?
CV be very careful of rotator cuff injury. frequently this is an injury that will not heal on its own and require surgery. can you identify what movements cause the injury to flare up?
I had a problem with my rotator cuff when a teacher aggressively yanked me into chakra bandasana - taking it easy is a very good thing. Petri's suggestions are good... I did the same thing, and it helped me!
I hope it's warmer today. Being cold in May doesn't make any sense.
yea, Carl, how DO you find stuff like that? i'm not familiar with that company, but now that you showed me this i will check it out! there might be some fun stuff i can get for my niece :)
Cranky, the rotator cuff is much better and hardly not bothering me at all anymore. i read the story Laksmi linked to a while ago, but what i'm not sure of is what movements or poses that might cause this injury? the most difficult pose for me is downward dog, and the movements that hurt are especially when bending arms in chaturanga and when raising arms above head in for example utkatasana and virabhadrasana a. i'm thinking i might need to open chest more?
Anna, i tried Petri's suggestion to not bend arms this morning - and it felt really good - as soon as i found out how to exhale without actually going into chaturanga :)
I found Pee and Poo while I was searching for a gift for Laksmi. I brielfy entertained the idea of getting these for her.
:-D
not going to ask what kind of gift you were searching for, but i'm glad to hear you didn't search for 'sweden'...
You have such beautiful shoulders, you know! So I am glad that they are feeling better. Cranky is right, and Lax's link is worth reading... this rotator cuff business can get intense, so it's good to be mindful. Sounds like you are taking great care.
oh, thank you Owl! *blushing*
i owe all to yoga for them :)
this week i will go to practice with a visiting teacher that is allegedly very good with shoulder injuries. everyone of my teachers that i've asked about adho mukha svanasana (it's supposed to be a resting pose? not for me...) says i'm not doing anything wrong - i should just go on focusing on uddiyana bandha and activating legs.
oh, and i did read Broken Wing's story. what i didn't get was if there was any specific pose or movement that had conduced to the injury. any thoughts on that?
Her story was so honest and detailed--really a gift to other practitioners (in case you see this, broken wing).
The very specific tear she experienced in one of the muscles of the rotator cuff, and the repeated stress to it over subsequent weeks, SEEM to have had a lot to do with third series. It's also in the vinyasas, yes; but there is a ton of crazy stuff that third series asks of the shoulders, especially of a woman (speaking as a curvy girl who does that series). To some extent, perhaps the risks she describe pertain particularly to advanced series in a competitive environment... though in so many ways her experience speaks to any practitioner.
nice shoulders:) take care of them for me.
Owl and Eeyore, thank you so much! clearly i'm not that advanced, but this really reminds me that this practice is pretty demanding, especially on the shoulders and especially for women, no matter where you are in the series. i'm starting to realize i'm not a lazy yogi because i modify here and there, skipping vinyasas etc. practicing with Gabi yesterday and also Petris advice made me see this is something you just need to do in order to not make it worse and to be able to keep your practice!
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