11 weeks out from second prolotherapy treatment.

It’s now less than one week from getting my third treatment, so it's been 11 weeks since my second treatment, and I thought to report in. As expected, things are getting better, things that used to work one way (incorrectly) are now working another way (correctly).  For example, when I do over head press now, I don’t feel my back muscles snapping over each other.

But the more things get treated the more stuff I find wrong with me. My lower back (seemingly QL) is really off and I'm coming to realize it's a factor

In what has been going on in my hips. Having a tight QL tightens up my piraformis, and that in turn tightens everything else up.  This may explain why when I’m sitting at the bottom of a squat my left hip is higher than my right hip: the muscles are tight in response to the tight/damaged QL.  I’m really hoping that this session will fix/treat everything.

I started squatting recently, and I wasn’t too excited because usually my knees hurt some.  It’s nothing I can’t handle but I always wondered if it was normal or if it was indication that something was wrong.  Well I think it was an indication that something was wrong because this time around my left knee didn't hurt at all, it felt... natural.  Hopefully I can get this going on with both knees.

This desire has led me to have Dr. Fullerton look at my right hip as well. I thought addressing my left hip would fix the right hip, but that doesn't seem

to be the case.  I'm hoping when the doc looks at my right hip he will see an intact capsule but some frayed muscles around it, since

I spent a lot of time and money fixing the capsule with Dr Hauser up in Chicago.

However, who knows what will happen.  These are the various scenarios I envision:

Everything is fine, tight muscles are responding to other tight muscles, don’t need treatment

Capsule is fine, but there some fraying going on

I have a sports hernia

The capsule is damaged some

The capsule is damaged some and I have fraying in the surrounding muscles.

Going back to the issues with my shoulder/back. although I'm getting better and I feel like my upper back is like one treatment away from being completely fixed, I don't want to go back to being inactive. I've found a sprinting group and I really like that, and I've found a weightlifting partner and am enjoying getting back into the swing of things.  In fact, because of my weightlifting background I have been asked to teach a class on cleans/snatches for the sprinting group.  Looks like they will have to wait about a month, but I think that will be a great time for me to plan and prepare for the class.

So I’ve made all this progress, I’ve made all these friends, just to take another month off.

But if this is what it takes to get better, so be it.

However,  I really don't want to keep having these setbacks. My wife has noticed me leaning out since I've started sprinting, and I want to keep

Going, keep getting faster, stronger, and leaner.

Having said all that,  I know that if I keep going as is, I will just hurt myself further.  Prolotherapy is, for me, the path to becoming 100%.  Just need to keep focus.  My next post will probably be the day after I see Dr. Fullerton, so until next week!

Seven weeks out from second Prolo treatment for shoulder/back

So it's been slow, slow goings but I'm happy to report that I do seem to be making improvement.  I really don't feel my neck being as tight as it used to be.  I don't feel the need to try to crack my neck all the time like I used to (it was bad, like all the time).  I can also tell that my back muscles are starting to behave like they should.  It's hard to describe, but things just feel more... right.

My left QL, the one that once made me think I had a kidney infection, has been super tight since the treatment (I think the muscle responded to the trauma of the injections by tightening up), but still things feel better (especially after getting some soft tissue treatment).

I am in Chicago right now for some personal business, and it gave me the opportunity to go see Bobby my old massage therapist.  He worked on mostly my back and pecs, and at the end of the session he commented that my body seems much more unremarkable than it used to be. Muscles that used to take a really long time to release now release in a much more normal time.  It is good to hear from someone else that they are noticing a difference in how my body is acting, and one for the better.

When I do DB rows, I can feel the very bottom of my lat freaking out over trying to work.  I've noticed that my back is fairly asymmetrical, especially in my lats.  My left side just isn't as developed, and I think that has been because the injuries have been causing improper mechanics.  Now that I'm starting to be able to use my back in a proper way, the lower part of my lat is really getting a work out. I think it's pretty awesome, further proof that things are headed in the right direction.

Things might be headed in the right direction, but I am still unsure as to whether I've fully recovered or not.  I still find myself trying to decompress my left ear and I still have pain in my lower back, so if I had to go see Dr. Fullerton today I would ask for one more treatment, but thankfully I won't have to cross that bridge for another month or so.  Until then, I will keep working out and getting stronger!