Shoulder update...

The visits to tui na are continuing with approximately the same treatment each time. Certain points in my shoulder are pressed and damn! it is uncomfortable. As soon as the pressure is off, it feels quite good. This is what's known as good/sweet pain. My overall flexibility is improving but I still have pain in the shoulder at night. The most uncomfortable move is when my arm is lifted above my head, outwards and backwards. I feel it right in the corner of my shoulder. The tui na chap massages and warms up the sore bit and I can move a little bit easier with a little less pain. The sessions continue....

The 7-Step Rotator Cuff System self-treatment also continues. I have been heat treating and massaging my shoulder for the past two weeks (Step 2) and today I began looking and practicing Steps 3 and 4. These involve relearning balance, proprioreception (touching my nose with my finger when my eyes are closed, etc) and simple exercises like slowly crawling on the floor like a toddler, swinging a tennis ball on a 30 cm string in different planes (I knew my slings would come in handy onde day!) and (Step 4) various static stretches to work on the muscles around the shoulder joint. The idea is that steps 3 and 4 complement each other and should be backed up with occasional massage and heat when needed. The hardest thing for me in all of this is having the patience to slowly progress day by day. I want it fixed, NOW!

I've been a lazy boy last week. Some walking and three goes with the i-Move fitness thingy. I'm still eating like a horse though and go through cake and biccies like a hot knife through butter. Tsk! Have to try to bring my diet under control. I've not lost any weight since Christmas ended. Not good: cannot let my shoulder injury be an excuse for being lazy and eating crap. My mother in law is visiting this weekend and she baked dry-cake especially for me, which is very thoughful of her but the stuff is LETHAL and I cannot get enough. My wife and I have been talking about making more juices and smoothies. Luckily, along with the dry-cake and Karelian pies, we also got a shipment of frozen strawberries and raspberries! Yum!

The i-Move has been fun but I have had to be very careful with the choice of arm/shoulder exercise I do. Some really put strain on my bad shoulder and oddly enough it wasn't the punching exercise but simple jumping jacks! When raising my arms to the side I got a sudden shooting pain in my injured shoulder. Thinking about it afterwards, I realise I went too fast but also I was yet again guilty of my oldest training vice, namely working with non-relaxed (read hunched) shoulders. Shite!