David, (my long suffering but much loved husband), came back from an all guys ski trip in the three valleys last week. He came back; bonus! However, the result from four days of snow-boarding isn't so much of a bonus for him. Basically his knees are stuck.
Fascia is a fascination for me. It runs throughout our whole body, it has no beginning and no end, it's made from collagen, elastin, water and ground substance and it is totally cool. I was in a study group up in Harley Street last week with Leon Chaitow and we were discussing the fact that the view of anatomy is totally out of date and instead of having muscles, tendons and ligaments, we should just accept the fact that the locomotive system is just fascia.... It was a brain stretch, but I can see the value in reassessing how we relate and talk about the stuff that allows us to move our frame around this planet.
Through out our lives we go through different amounts of trauma. We are born; which is so amazingly traumatic for baby and Mum, neither really remembers it much most of the time. Our first three years of life are so uncomfortable I am convinced this is why we don't remember our young selves. We then go on as a child; skidding on wet leaves and bumping our knees, loosing a parent in an department store, falling off a swing, braking arms and being teased at school and all the rest. By the age of about 18 each year can hold a category of emotional, physical, mental and arguably spiritual traumas that we just store in our body. Then we get older and diet, exercise, stress, smoking, drinking, relationships and work take over. Wow, what a life!
So the body carries us through all this, including 4 days on a snow-board. By the time we stop and think are we really surprised that we ache?
You see, the theory goes like this. Fascia, that amazing web that holds us together and moves us in all directions at all times even when we sleep, holds on to bits of trauma and this in turn causes pain. Why? It traps things like nerves and put pressure on them, it also causes what is commonly called 'knots' (trigger points), which can manifest pain on the localised point or it send pain to another region of the body. Many (including me) also believe that because of the restrictions, our body's posture changes and not always for the better and this can cause tension and pain around the body. So the long and short of it is that we ache.
That is a tiny bit of what I was discussing up in London last week, but as always it is pointless just talking about it, the theory needs to be tested and treatments need to reduce pain, which is why at half ten last night I was treating David's pair of knees. He sits on the bed with his laptop playing Mine Craft and I drink hot-choc in-between cross hand stretches over his kneecap. I have done 3 treatments for David now which have included stretching and shearing the fascia as well as a lot of stretching of the muscles bellies around the whole leg and have even got him using a spiky ball under his foot to help loosen the fascia around the back of his body (it sounds odd, but it really works). From not being able to walk to work comfortably (about 15mins) and saying that his knees felt think, heavy and vulnerable, he seemed to set off with quite a spring in his step today. I am really happy with the result and look forward to seeing him progress in the next week. I'll keep you posted!
What I'm loving in the Treatment Room today: Woman's Balance Essential Oil Blend and Aromatic Massage Oil, both from Neal's Yard.
Music in the Treatment Room today: 100 Best Relaxing Classics
My exercise today: 3 mile round trip walk to Godalming and a ballet class at the Surrey Sports Park.
Jenny xx
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