10/18/26 – Full Day Ahead!
Man oh man, if I wasn’t taking notes every day, I feel like people wouldn’t believe me when I say that my body is changing every day! Glute fullness is increasing, knee fullness, ankle fullness, you name it!!!
Busy morning, busy day!
Standing frame evening!
Extension stretch before bed!
Trying to get decent sleep! Time for wrapping things up for the end of the night. Just highlights today, I don’t have time for a full sit down today.
10/19/26 – All Members Engage!
- Shoulders depressed and retracted
- Entire back engaged
- QL’s, Onliques, Lats, TA engaged
- Pelvic floor engaged
- Glutes (med, min, max) engaged
- Quads engaged
- Knee goo on
- Gastroc’s & soleus engaged
- Ankle on
- Outer metatarsals, sole of my foot, toes arch all on and engaging
Everything is turning on! And when I feel my hip flexor trying to spasm, I tip my head up, engaged the chain of muscles below all listed above, and I alternate from right to left on the muscles to activate and relax! This is wild because I’m feeling my body regain control over the whole body flexor spasm, and it’s me voluntarily working on extension! It feels almost like if I engage all these muscles to get in extension, my body is “safe”? Like it doesn’t need to spasm?
My legs are still partially flexed, but this really seems to help calm everything down? So crazy how it all seems to start from my shoulders and neck too?
My low low pelvic / abdominal region yesterday was having some INTENSE activation, kinda painful, and kinda GERD like, but I can feel everything trying to just fire and be heard? Trying to wake up and be useful? Just, not in coordination with everything else?
I’ll have to remember the extensors this week. Trying to keep them on the board and engaged while in the chair is hard. I still haven’t quite figured out the best ways to work in extension in a busy day, maybe I’ll think of something today!
Fibularis Longus & Brevis!
Maybe that’s why my left leg seated is more stable than the right? Because the eversion muscles are activating more?
I need to try some lateral leg raises in the braces! I’m telling ya, there’s something really special and interesting going on with the muscles on the lateral side of our bodies!?
I’m going to have to think more about the ankle roll throughout the day! Not just plantar or dorsi flexion!
After getting out of the shower I can see how my right ankle is everting, and my left leg is stable and is more so “inverted”? Or more neutral?
Full day behind me! Sometimes too busy, but here we are up in the standing frame at 8:12pm, just getting my body stretched out!
Going to resume getting up in the Exo! It’s been such a long summer, my body is moving in all sorts of ways, and I want to continue to progress this!
I have some tricks up my sleeve to help work on this hip extension! Going to get these hips ready for the C-brace! Ashley told me this is definitely do able, I just need to put the work in for this to happen!
10/20/26 – Product Realization
Huge increase in posterior chain engagement! All the same actors from yesterday showed up this morning, with even more vigor! Stimming the glutes yesterday after doing the handcycling is a HUGE help! Now it’s to try to consolidate all this!
Trying to continually activate the posterior chain and extension muscles even while sleeping is really making a difference! I’ll need to keep this up!
Busy day! Made it to UWM for product realization!
10/21/26 – Don’t Look Down!
Working on, activating my entire posterior chain while side lying has really been helping me navigate through unwanted signals? I think? I’m laying in bed. I’ll get that I have the urge to pee, but instead of listening to that urge, I almost thought that it was like a sign that I needed to do “something?” Instead of going to the bathroom I laid there, tried to lean my head back try to push my knees out and engage my posterior chain and just breathe, and relax into extension?
I had this thought that just simply activating the muscles aren’t going to get the movement. I really need to be thinking about an angle change or position change of the joint? Like, the muscles don’t simply contract in with a muscle to move with a joint. They’re either contracting in a concentric manner or eccentric manner, which is more data than simply “squeeze”. There’s more signals. There’s more information going to the muscles than simply contract. I need to learn more about the signal difference between isometric, concentric and eccentric contractions!
Wow! Emma and I had an AMAZING walk today! ABCs of nursing! Was really stretched out and in extension! This was the first time walking where I didn’t look down! Emma also mentioned how difficult it was to consciously activate the outside of her leg while she focuses on it? Maybe there’s something to this? This walk may not have been the farthest to date, but it was so monumental because my body is starting to move differently?!
Pilates was wild too! Springs and stretching! Romana’s favorite excersize was lying on the side and doing these kick backs and forward kicks!! Therese was saying to me that getting into hip extension is the most important thing I can be doing right now!
My low back on the drive home too was freaking and popping from loosening up like crazy!!!
10/22/26 – Consolidation Day
This is a huge morning for activation and movement of my hips and knees! I squeeze my butt, and my hips are extending! Yesterday was HUGE for a day of movement!!!
I am feeling everywhere, and the activation is off the charts! Doing a walk while trying not to look down, and then going to work with Therese and getting stretched out is a huge combo!!
Right now my low back I can feel connected to my glutes, my obliques connected to my hips, my Transverse Abdominis connected to my pelvis, my quads connected to my hip flexors, my knees, down to my gastroc’s, soleus, down into my ankles, and feet!!
Last night I literally felt a difference when my sock was taken off, and a temperature change as well!
My glutes right now are trying to bridge!! I can feel my hips lifting from the bed ever so slightly!!! My whole body right now is activating like crazy!!
The paper I am reading from Hasan does talk about and mention a stretching routine? I wonder if I try to incorporate this into Friday as well?
This is nuts, I’m going to be in that C Brace before I know it! My hips are going to be not only getting into extension and neutral, but with so much control too!!
My whole core is engaged, obliques are engaged, extensors, QL’s, glutes, quads, gastroc’s, soleus, rib anterior posterior, fibularis, all the feet muscles! Goodness!!!! Everything I did yesterday I need to repeat forsure!!
October 22, 2026 — SCI recovery baseline
Intentional glute contraction: Repeatable with visible motion
Pelvic lift during bridge: Slight lift
Hip extension range: Not measured
Temperature sensation: Uncertain
Man, also trying to keep my legs and muscles contracted while lying in bed too, I think is having a profound effect on me as well!
Feet activating when not looking!? Is this what I gotta work on? Or that they “do”?? They are working better when I’m not looking??
10/23/26 – ‘Slackline’ Practice
Honestly, I’ve been trying to activate parts of my legs and body while side lying and then falling asleep? Weird? But it feels like it’s changing something in my body?
My low core, pelvic floor, glutes, hips, obliques, TA, QL’s are all linked and connected to the pelvis, and it’s wild how when I work to activate all of these guys together in unison, when I’m lying on my side while in bed with my eyes closed, it helps me fall back asleep? Then when I wake up, they’re all activated and turned on still?
At work it’s so interesting! I’m just working with my work apron on, can’t see my feet, brakes unlocked, and my legs and feet are stabilizing better and better!
Walk went really good today! No looking down!! Maddie and I had a good session filled with lots of upright conversation as well! This is a great next step in my walking journey ahead!
I tried to describe how it felt, and the closest thing I could think of was walking on the Slack Line! I kinda just closed my eyes for a moment to try to picture what I was feeling, and then BOOM! I pictured myself looking at a tree, 50-100ft in front of me, working on my entire body and balance! This is it!
Distance was good and I increased my walking distance with each set! How weird, peculiar, and an amazing place to be!
Also I am seemingly not getting tired after an hour of walking? But almost more energized to keep going?
Drove up to Sheboygan to get dinner! Had a great evening with Callie!
10/24/26 – Pre Sleep work? Tired Day
This morning my left leg is almost fully extended, my right is close to the same, just slightly less, and the activation and stretching going on right now is absolutely huge! I’ve been working on keeping the muscles that keep me in extension turned “on” while I’m laying supine getting to sleep, and it’s been a crazy time because I think this activation and intentional control while falling into a sleep, is having some interesting effects on my body! It’s so crazy! My breathing while laying supine is also getting so much better! Deeper breaths, low and slow, and I’m getting my body to relax into this extended position! My shoulders remaining retracted and depressed too I think is really helping! My body is really getting with the program!
Now, to keep the progress up during the weekend! This is the next big step as well!
Needed a big rest today. Full week, full night, and I can’t sacrifice my sleep!
Got something to try to work on up standing on the counter! Let’s see how it goes!
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