On September 11th, 2001, I was still in graduate school at Georgia Tech. I had gotten up and was getting ready for an 8:30am class, while watching Matt Lauer and Katie Couric on the Today Show. All was well until I came back from another part of the apartment to find a burning, smoking building on the screen. At first, I thought it was a hoax. How could a building in New York City be burning? Then, Katie and Matt were taking turns trying to explain what was going on when an object hit the second World Trade Center tower. “What is happening???” I kept asking in my head as Katie and Matt continued to work on explaining a horrific scene.
On this day, my cousin also had her 16th birthday. It was not the day she would get her driver’s license, though.
This year, I had a pretty big day with a Chiropractic appointment and a physical therapy appointment.
First, I went to Dr. Larry’s. I was having a pain in my right glute max, and my thought was that it might be L5. Dr. Larry said that it sounded more like S1. So, he adjusted, and it felt great! He also did the usual neck, back hips and ankles with a little right wrist for good measure.
Then, I headed down to see Brian for physical therapy. I was wondering if it was too much to do these two things on the same day, but then I figured, why not?
I told Brian about Dr. Larry’s verdict on the S1 adjustment, and Brian said that it made a lot of sense b/c the S1 is the nerve that controls the Posterior Tibial Tendon, among other tendons in the foot. So, if you’re S1 nerve gest severed, then your Posterior Tib Tendon will not work. Hmmmm, interesting. Does that also mean that if your s1 vertebra is out of alignment, then your Posterior Tibial tendon will have a difficult time working to its fullest capacity? Good question. I do not have the answer, but it certainly does make one think.
Brian worked on ASTYM for the posterior tibial tendon and the back of the calf. Still crunchier on the right than the left. Also, I was more tender from the Iron Girl 5K. He then had me do a calf warm-up (downward dog), the World’s Greatest Stretch (coming soon), and a few running warm-up moves. These running warm-up moves included learning to hop softly for approximately one minute. The “soft hops” are shown in this video by Sanatan Golden, a PT in Portland, OR, who helps to produce “Minimalist Mondays” videos and clinics.
We then practiced foot “lifts,” which are a warm up where you try to lift your foot rather than hop from foot to foot in order to prepare for a run.
Finally, he had me run on the treadmill. This is going to be an ongoing exercise, too. Despite my reservations and rebelling against running because I am terrified of continually reinjuring myself – you know the dance: two steps forward, three steps back. However, when asked to run for a camera, I cannot say no. The following video is from Sept. 4, 2012.
Note: I had no idea Brian would suggest running that day. So, I was not dressed for success in running. Also, the creepy slow voice is Brian asking me if I am relaxed in the second video. I have some serious video editing skill deficits to overcome in the future.
I have not put the later videos together, but I might just do a video post later. For now, check this out!
In the left-most video or Video #1, I am trying very hard to remember all of the steps to running barefoot: tilt pelvis up, lift legs, head up, chest expanded, shoulders back, try to create a forward lean, etc. Notice that my legs do not always come up very far on the up swing (less than 90 degrees). In the right-most video or Video #2, Brian has showed me the first video, then told me to relax and think of being light, relaxed and quick. I also only worked on tilting my pelvis up (I had to think of something – what is this relaxed thing, anyway???).
Guess what? Relaxing and not worrying so much produced a better stride naturally. These videos were only a few minutes apart. Brian literally showed me the first video, talked about good things (thank you for doing that, I had enough negative self-talk going on for about four people at the time), and then added that I could just relax. Very well done, indeed as that second video shows. My legs swing up to 90 degrees, my pelvis is in a good place, and I might even be smiling.
Although this video is from last week, it mimics the video from 9/11/12.
So, don’t sweat the small stuff, and just relax!
Tags: chiropractor, MInimalist Mondays, physical therapy, running video