2/9
Wait, do I need to contract my muscles the whole time I’m eccentrically and concentrically loading them? Because it really feels very different these past couple days with me consciously engaging my muscles during the eccentric load phase!
Control, I need to make sure I’m not letting my muscles lengthen passively.
“The depth and anatomical precision of these images provide important insight into the associated kinesiology.” Dr Neumann feels that “good art is universally inspiring and transcends language – it is a fundamental element of my teaching.” – Kiniseology of the Musculoskeletal system
It’s interesting how a teacher, an engineer, a student, a physical therapist, or a doctor will all explain an idea or topic to you in a very different way. It will be the same idea, but communicated very differently. None are inherently wrong, it’s just the choice of wording that’s different. It’s interesting how this idea can be applied across so many different topics too! It’s really kinda interesting!
Decelerate the body in a CONTROLLED fashion! That’s what the eccentric loading is doing! Honestly a part I’m really going to need to work on as well!
Re-racking weights, I’m consistently doing a 10lb-er in each hand and getting the weight to the rack without additional support!! Yeah wow, these eccentric loading ideas are really sticking with me! I feel my body engaging so much more with this additional idea and mental imagery!
So, isometrically, eccentrically, then concentrically? Is this the order for which our muscles begin to be able to fire again? I have a hunch that this is the order they need to heal in, but I don’t have any way to prove that except with my own body. And even that I do all of the loading anyways? Tricky.
Holy smokes!!! These cable ab forward pulldowns were SO HARD!! These felt amazing!!!
2/10
I woke up with the most relaxed legs I’ve had to date! I have actually been able to sleep with my legs slightly outstretched for a bit! And my legs are cool/ warm! Not all tingly!
So, what I’m noticing as I’m working on keeping my knee in extension, is that it’s not enough for me to just try to get the quad to contract, but I also need to “hold” it during the eccentric phase as well, as soon as I started to to that, my legs made a big change in how straight they are becoming, and able to achieve and sustain! I really need to time it with my breath, inhale on the eccentric load, exhale in the concentric load.
So, my seat! Talked with Kim about getting a new cushion! Hopefully one that can help remove some of the backward angle in my chair to help decrease hamstring tightness?!
My braces! Kim also got some notes and an order in going for these guys as well! This is great news to get recasted for them as well!
My glutes! We talked about ways to get them working outside of therapy! I never even thought to try to do some E-stim on them at home! I’m going to try to do this every day now!!
Therapy today was great! I can’t believe this! Even though it was with weight support, I was able to hold my glutes and my quads engaged for up to 35 seconds with no knee blocks!! This was after the treadmill, and I know that I had a good amount of body weight support, but it was just me!
Ashley and I spoke too about trying to do some tall kneel walking! Which would be super cool to try to do in the harness!
“It’s like looking at a reflection of a reflection” – interesting quote about distorted perception. Sometimes I have a feeling almost similar to this as well.
“Everything to gain, nothing to lose” this is how I feel about my recovery. Regardless of what anyone thinks is going to happen to me, I have everything to gain from all this work. I gotta keep it up!
Wow, my legs feel really wild right now. I’m feeling the gentle pulse through my quads, my hamstrings are relaxing, as are my hips with each deeper breath. My right hamstring is still feeling pretty tight, but my right hamstring is almost completely relaxed!
2/11
Inhale – bring in energy and build up tension
Exhale – relax and allow the movement
So I’m at the gym right now and the activation in my legs to stabilize me is phenomenal right now! I’m feeling so much too! My legs are feeling amazing and improving so much, I just got done doing sit to stands without knee blocks, I can’t get myself fully into extension, but they’ve come a long way! My legs, glutes, and abdomen is engaging so much! Especially with all this back work I’m doing right now too!
I also had a thought about how the gluteus medius is a key stabilizer in the stance phase, which kinda makes sense? Trying to just put the legs all together in my head of what all the muscles are that are in them, as well as their function!
These single arm lat pull downs with feet on the floor are feeling really good!! My body’s gotta work as a complete system. All together.
This is wild! Feet down single arm rows are making my legs activate so much!! They’re on fire with sensation!! all the way into my foot, my calves, everywhere in my legs! I also think this is the first time I’ve worked out with compression pants too? This is really cool!!
I’m getting into pretty decent sit to stands without a knee block!!! It’s cool feeling my legs engaging so much! I love it. They gotta keep going!
Dream about jumping up and down! AT tech!!! This was honestly such an amazing dream! I need to keep having dreams of being on my feet! It’s gotta be good signs!
2/12
Why has this mental imagery, squeeze, hold, squeeze reps, been so impactful in these last two days?? I really feel some major changes happening too?! Maybe also my new bed time routine where I get on the floor? Or is it all of it?
Wow! I’m glad I got some more rest! My legs are feeling incredibly! My hips I feel filling out, my glutes, my thighs are warming up, my calves! My calves are activating! My feet and “tootsies” feel cool on this foot plate! They’re waking up it’s amazing! My core is engaging so well!
My lower left abdomen is sweaty? While in a long sit? And working? I wonder why? Is this my lower abdomen waking up and working hard? Maybe my stomach digesting? Not sure!
Also, my “forward scootches” while on the floor are actually improving! Even though my knees aren’t in full extension, they aren’t going into flexion and collapsing when I push!!
2/13
Wow! Woke up for the bathroom, and the sensations are wild! My low back/ glutes have seriously never felt this significant ever before, my knees, my calves, my abdomen! Everything is coming together! This new nighttime routine is getting so much better! And my legs so much stronger! My ankles are feeling so much!!
Honestly even my low abdomen and pelvic region is firing up in ways I haven’t felt before! It’s incredible! I better get back to sleep and dreaming soon!
Wow, how does this even feel possible this morning! I legitimately feel like each day and night I’m transforming a little bit into a version of myself with fuller and fuller legs, stronger, and more connected! This is honestly wild, I’m shocked at the pace of the progress I’ve felt in the last couple days!
Today was a great day of Pilates! My core and legs are really coming a long way! I’m glad I got on the floor before to get stretched out! It was a great session, got on the floor, and did quite a bit of legwork!
2/14
“The less you try, the harder things get”, this is definitely true, I can see how relevant that is for spinal cord injuries. Sometimes you don’t even know, but it’s so true! The less we try to do anything, the harder it will be.
Using. our upper bodies to help our lowers. Trying to reconnect my upper body to lower body. This has been an idea and focus that Therese has been helping me with at Pilates that I think is so interesting! We really can and should use our body to well, help our body!!
This was an amazing session of core control after dinner here with Callie! I was able to do much deeper and fuller range of motion hip hinges/ crunches while in the chair, with only a slight amount of help from Callie! This was truly amazing! I really think there is something to the idea of using our arms, just a bit? We gotta be able to complete the motion first before we do it on our own! I think this is definitely how we are able to get these motions started! Especially if we do them on our own, with no external support from someone else!
2/15
Wow, the increased sensation in my hips, glutes, quads, calves, and feet is real this morning!! I took a bit of a rest day yesterday, Callie and I were able to actually let our bodies get some rest! Which is much needed with a body like this these days! Trying to balance the rest days, working days, and days that are so busy I feel like I don’t get either, is hugely important.
I’m really happy how these new clothes are helping my sensory awareness! This is so amazing! I need to keep exposing my body to new types of sensation! Speaking of which, what are all the sensations our muscles can even experience? I’m curious now?
- Tension
- Stretch
- Contraction
- Vibration
- Warmth/ Cold
- Activation
- Pressure
- Fatigue/ Weakness
- Relaxation
- Pain
- Electrical like sensations……
1. Legs straight on their own (no knee support) while I’m in the walker, 2. initiating leg movements for walking, and 3. holding my torso up in the standing frame. These are all goals I want to achieve next for myself at PT and on my own! I better talk to the PTs about this!
I changed the “dump” angle from being tilted back to being just about level. This should help loosen up my hamstrings, and engage my quads and glutes more! I’m already feeling it happening and I just got back into the chair!
This is insane! Right now I have my left leg crossed over in a figure four, and my right leg is feeling the pressure from my left so much! This is absolutely amazing!
I adjusted the back axle 1″, is up higher in the back, my body feels so much more “normal” than ever before! I’m sitting so much more upright, and my pelvis I think is sitting at a much more normal angle! I need to see how these next couple days go! It might not seem like much, but our pelvis in general only rotates a few degrees with each step, so changing that dump angle from -8 to maybe -1 is huge!!!
Even from this morning till now, my legs feel so different! This chair update has been so significant! It’s unbelievable! I think I’m on to something here, and I really need to keep progressing on this one!
Wow, it’s such an interesting time! Dump angle change, under garments, compression pants, floor time, glute stimulation, this has all been a game changer!? I wonder what’s next?! These all have been such huge developments this past week! Getting on the floor, moving around and getting stretched out! I really am so proud of these movements, and how much more sensation I have been feeling! My legs are here! I’m getting back walking, one way or another! Even if it takes me 5 years I am going to. I know it.
There’s so many things distracting us in our lives, Sirens Call is a book Callie is reading about attention. I think that it’s good I’m able to keep my focus on this! It’s so easy to fall victim to the distractions everywhere around us. One day, one day at a time! I think I better talk to the PTs about my goals, and see what this next week will bring! So much new! Here we go!!
The Astronaut on Earth 
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