10/11/26 – A Leg To Stand On
Extension. Whole body extension. That’s what I’m working on, that’s what the shoulder work I was doing yesterday too was working on! Well, I guess it’s abduction, but it’s reaching my shoulder overhead, and stretching out as far as they can!
I’m feeling some good reciprocal muscle “synergy” this morning. As in getting in the standing frame to end the night helps my body realize and remember this is the position to be in while awake and up doing things! It’s not always what I wanna do when I’m tired and ready to sleep, but I’m feeling the after effects so well!
Let’s keep working in more time in the braces! Slowly but surely! We got this!
What’s been interesting, is how during A Leg To Stand On, Oliver Sacks, in the pages talking about “becoming a patient” is talking about how he lost part of the body image for his injured leg, and also talked about how he had a patient with a lesion on the right side of his parietal lobe, which controlled that part of his leg. Oliver Sacks didn’t have that type of injury, and he knew that. But the symptoms currently are showing as the same.
I had a most peculiar time reading this account from him, because I have not had dreams or loss of body images for my legs and body below my injury. My legs are there! Here, standing in the standing frame, I can feel so much throughout my lower extremities, that there isn’t a second guess as to what’s down there!
Now, has this affected or helped with my recovery? I say this because in my mind, I haven’t given up on these parts of my body. I haven’t succumbed to the fact that they don’t work very well. Instead of that being an end all be all, it’s merely a level of where I am at in my recovery. It’s a statement, about how things currently are, and not how they will always be? I guess?
Doing the repetitive raised shoulder presses into the wall is having an amazing affect on how loose I am, active and engaged my body is! I’m excited to continue to explore different range of motion and movements while up standing! I’m noticing how the more reps I push into the wall, with hand overhead, externally rotated, I am able to feel such significant changes in my body? Like all the reps are sending signals to my body that “something needs to be done” and “recruit as many muscles as you can” to help achieve whatever the movement or exercise is? But it’s small reps, small movements, in areas of extreme tightness, I feel. I was doing it with the shoulder presses, but then I was able to do this also while trying to press my hips in extension, small, repetitive movements, of reps 30+ or more? Almost like a timed exercise, do them for a minute or so plus? Let’s see?
- Abducted, flexed, palm out (arm overhead) almost full extension
I can feel my rear delt twitching and pulsing from all the activity! Plus I’m not leaning so much to the one side! My body is responding to this repetitive input, almost like a Pilates 100 exercise? Same breath pattern, just different movements? My whole body feels looser, more engaged, and usable after all this?
10/12/26 – Arm Cycling While Standing!
I need to look up all the pathways of nerve signaling, because my body is waking up so much! I feel like I’m feeling pretty much my whole feet! The upper body movements and stretches last night while up in the standing frame is loosening me up so much! These hips are feeling a ton of activation and sensation, and I was more stable on my left side while I wasn’t holding myself up with my hands!
Also, seems like my left and right legs want to be staggered, a bit? While in extension? As in my left leg slightly back, from where my right is? Is there something to this? I readjust my legs and knees a ton while up standing, so that they’re even, but my left leg will always want to move slightly back, and abduct a bit too? Should I lean into this a bit more? I’ll talk to the team today!
Had an amazing session at both OT and PT today! I was able to take some of my research, talk to the team about it, and integrate it into the session! Goodness, Ashley has some good ideas! She was able to come up with a slick setup for helping me with an idea of research that I brought in, about reciprocal motion, and interim connectivity! From there, she just looked and said, let’s throw this stationary bike, up on the elevated mat, and here we went!
I was able to get situated up there pretty well! Lots of good feels but cooked for tonite!
10/13/26 – Morning Extension Work!
So, pushing into extension, letting hips melt into extension, practicing this while I’m half awake/ half asleep in the morning is awfully interesting! I don’t know exactly what I need to do to get my hips to let go and stretch out, but it’s a mix of engagement, relaxation, not caring, letting go, and recruiting seemingly all the muscles down there at the same time? Then all of a sudden I fall asleep, wake up, and my body feels ever so slightly different? Weird? There’s so much going on down here! Let’s keep this progress up!!
Late night standing frame session!
10/14/26 – The Whole Haystack
Engaging the pelvic floor while legs are in extension?! Why is that so helpful?! When my legs were both extending at the hips, kinda doing a spasm or something, I just started to squeeze between my glutes, with my glutes as well, and noticed how much my legs were kicking out at the hips because of this!? How crazy??
From my TA, obliques, QL’s, and extensors, all the way down and thru my legs, I am feeling so much! I guess I need to make sure I keep up my pelvic floor work! I have been working I’m on incorporating the kegels more and more throughout the day, but less so while getting standing? Maybe I need to start throwing this in as well!
What are the antagonist muscles for the pelvic floor, and what are the pelvic floor agonist muscles for, besides the diaphragm?
“If at PT you’re doing the work to try to find a needle in the haystack, at Pilates, you’re working the whole Haystack” – Therese
It’s so true! I get out of there feeling my body worked so much! We talk about leaving our arms and legs at the door, cuz we are working on everything internally! Working this body in extension, and trying to get a bridge going is so freaking tough! It’s gonna happen, I can feel it! This body is getting is getting stronger every day!
Lots of projects, lots to do. How to manage it all, sometimes?
For now though, I need to get some rest. It was a busy day, work, eye doctor, PT, working out, woof! 12hr days are a lot sometimes! Here goes nothing!
10/15/26 – Busy Thoughts
It’s every day! Every day my legs are doing more, showing up more, new sensations here and there, more activation, areas filling out, and I’m trying to keep up with it all?!
Carving out time in extension has got to be the hardest thing I do all day. It’s not easy! I always want to do so much throughout the day, so splitting it up is very tricky??
I had a full night in bed without getting up to use the bathroom, so I am kinda uncomfortable at the moment. I should probably get up and get moving!
I’ve read some interesting quotes today. Interesting excerpts from Oliver Sacks. Interesting thoughts from the show we’re watching. Interesting thoughts about what it all makes me think about. This is now all while my body decided to get the biggest chill for apparently no reason ever. Why? Why does it do this?
10/16/26 – Hot Dogs
Quad activation because of spinal flexion?
Busy day, ate a lot of hot dogs, and was kinda tight during my walk at PT? Not sure if those two things are related?
Working on quad extension in the bed while laying down at end of night, just trying to find and feel all the areas of activation!
10/17/26 – Oil Change!
Where to start today? Lots of thoughts and emotions from the message from the legal assistant. So that’s a fun one to deal with?
For the basement lift down to the basement, I need to spend some time working on the CAD, layout, and BOM today, too!
For my body, yesterday was a busy day for him. The walk I did about half as far as I usually do, and the. When I got done, it felt like I had a cannonball inside my gut that couldn’t escape. So that was fun working on that before I got to eat dinner.
I have been getting up in the standing frame for most evenings, which I think is helping my body and legs endurance! I just need to figure out some other ways to use my quads throughout the day. It’s tough sometimes getting in the braces or the standing frame, logistically. Hmmm.
I’m not sure what it is about this morning? Maybe I need some movement in my day to help cheer me up and get me out of this funk? I do also think getting this basement lift in will help with that too. Getting an at home gym in, will be ALOT easier to get myself moving! Spot for the Handcycle in the winter, spot for the punching bag, some weights, maybe a cable machine? Maybe a wall unit with a spring setup?! Lots of ideas!
Probably best to get moving, hamstrings are… well, what am I feeling this morning!? The gain always seems to be turned up more on my hamstrings than my quads, but I’ve noticed this peculiar phenomena that if I give an area more attention, it really seems to direct sensation there? So I just took a moment to readjust, feel my legs, and after that I am now feeling my quads, gastroc’s, ankles, and feet a ton more? Almost like me taking notes in the morning is a “little” workout for my nervous system? Giving my CNS clear, uninterrupted signals, as opposed to a busy drawn out day, where my head is in a tizzy?
How do I make sure to do my research and exercises each day? How can one help the other? Can I do them concurrently, besides in the standing frame?
I’ve realized that lately, instead of just asking the question about what I want to do, I need to be more deliberate with my thinking and speaking, to help direct it into motion? Instead of saying, “how can I do my research and exercises concurrently?” Just start with what you can do “like the standing frame” and go from there? Just try that and regroup when it doesn’t work?
THATS RIGHT! My right ankle! He’s…. Rotating “inward”? I need to learn the terms for ankle movement! EVERSION! What muscles activate to get the ankle to do that? What muscles activate to work on inversion?? I’ve been thinking about plantar and dorsi flexion, but not inversion or eversion?? Maybe my ankles need some extra love!? THEY ARE WAKING UP!
Did some solo shopping today to pick up a few things! Got everything I needed for changing the oil!
Honestly it didn’t go so bad! I’m honestly amazed, how simultaneously difficult, easy, trying, and “right” this all felt, at the same time!
Let’s just take some notes and time to figure out what it is we need to do to improve for next time? How can I work on things better and better, till I’m just standing up and doing it again? Wait — what if?…..
What if I made a rolling kneeling stand?? It would be a partial hip extension, but bent knee setup!? THIS COULD WORK! For now I will get a rolling 360 stool, this way I can work slightly more freely than the wheelchair, and get up to closer spaces! Figured too, it would be good for me to have some other options!
Up in the standing frame to end the night! Glad to have made it in here before bed. My body really appreciates being used fully! More and more ways, that’s all I’m trying to do!
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