Hello Your Fit Day Friends!
I have to admit, this warrior woman had been suffering pain for the past 3 months or so. It started back in June 2010 when I pulled my inner thigh muscles (called adductors in fitness speak) most likely doing dead lifts. After rolling it out using the foam roller, and taking it easy on the lifting for a couple weeks, I was soon back to running, as well as training hard for a figure competition I had penciled into my schedule for the June of 2011.
The show must go on you know!
But by the time August 2010 rolled around I was starting to feel tightness in my glutes (called the butt in plain speak) and I noticed that running stairs (a great plyometric and fat burning workout by the way) were becoming a little painful with the high – knee lifts. So, in September I decided to lay off the stair-running for a few weeks.
Trail running, however, didn’t seem to bother me. Thank the universe, since I live for those East Bay trails!
Then, when even long strides started to be uncomfortable, and my butt muscles and Tensor Fasciae Latae ( no, this is not a cup of coffee) were burning when I walked, and Mr. Sandman wasn’t coming at night, I decided that it was time for a visit to my Muscle Activation Technique guru, Paul Ciske to relieve the pain.
Who Is Paul ?
I had known Paul back in the 90’s where he worked as a fitness trainer at the now defunct Courthouse Athletic Club, in Oakland CA. Even back then he was very innovative in the fitness movement, designing and teaching fitness classes and certifications.
What makes Paul different from most other practitioners and fitness trainers is that he knows body mechanics down to a ‘T’. Something I find that most fitness trainers and other ‘healers’ in our industry don’t have a good grasp of.
Paul applies his in-depth knowledge of joint and exercise mechanics – which, in a nutshell, is how the system of joints and muscles responds to both internal and external forces- as viewed through the lenses of Resistance Training Specialist (RST) and Muscle Activation Technique (MAT).
How I Discovered ‘Magic’ MAT
My first visit to Paul for some MAT work was in 2007. It was through a suggestion of a mutual friend of ours, the great Ultra Running Man Mike Palmer, who I literally ran into one day on Strawberry Canyon trail in Berkeley, CA. We trotted along for a while, catching up.
I told Mike of a weird foot ache I was having. He told me about Paul and this MAT ‘magic’ that got him back to running after a major knee injury.
Now, Mike is an anomaly of his own. I don’t know how old Mike is, and I don’t want to ‘insert running shoe in mouth’, but if I had to guess I’d say that Mike is in his late fifties. And what’s not so normal about Mike is that a normal week of running for Mike is around 100 miles. Did I already mention Mike is an ultra marathon runner?!
Now, I love running as much as Mike. I live for the trails. And for a long time I have been fantasizing about completing an ultra (Note: it is still just a fantasy!).
But to be felled by pain and unable to run can be a hard knock to a runner. However, with MAT, Paul had literally saved Mikes career as an Ultra Runner. Check out his incredible testimonial here. (Scroll down to bottom).
I knew MAT existed as a certification for trainers, and I knew Paul was highly respected in the industry among other trainers and wellness practitioners, so I finally decided to give Paul, and MAT, a try.
What Does MAT Do?
“MAT gets to the root of pain or injury by addressing muscle weakness rather than muscle tightness. This helps to restore normal body alignment, thereby, decreasing pain and reducing the risk of injury.”
I Do Believe… In Magic
Wow! All I can say is that first visit back in 2007 for MAT work with Paul blew my mind.
One of the best parts about visiting Paul is that you get to lie on this really comfortable, cushioned, heated massage table. In fact, one whiff of the sheets made me nuzzle right into them. (Make note to ask him what he uses on them!) I felt like asking for a down comforter to pull up over my shoulders, and going to bed instead of the session.
But I digress…
Doing His Craft
On that visit Paul identified weaknesses in specific muscles by positioning my legs and feet in all the different planes of the body. In each position he would apply a force, have me resist, and see if that muscle could hold that position.
Applying a force in each position allows Paul to identify a muscle, or group of muscles, that may not be firing (working to stabilize, in plain speak). Once he finds a weakness he stimulates those muscles fibers to fire again by applying pressure with his fingertips along the muscle fibers. (That part felt kind of like massage!)
Then came the retests; he would apply force in same positions; have me walk around; then retest once again. It was like this crazy giant loop of testing!
YUP! Paul is very thorough. And he has even created a system which basically double checks his work, making sure the correct muscles are doing their designated job.
And what was amazing is that Paul also found weaknesses in other parts of my body that had everything to do with the ache in my foot. He corrected for those, and I was back on the trail, even faster than before, lighter on my feet, with more pep in my step.
After about an hour and a quarter I left Paul’s office with a few isometrics to do on my own.
Sidebar: I was so impressed with MAT that I signed up for the Jump Start program for fitness trainers and completed the Lower Body portion (which by the way, was instructed by Paul).
Oh! Did I forget to mention that Paul is a Master Trainer for MAT?
Back To The Future
So now it’s September 2010 and I’m having a hard time walking without some pain and tightness in my front thigh, hip flexors and my butt. My thoughts are that it’s got to be from the pulled groin muscles. My intuition tells me that it’s time for a visit to Paul. So I hopped to it- almost quite literally on my good leg! – and after 1 1/2 hours of working his ‘magic’ I walked out of his office, again pain free, and feeling much better.
Pain free… that was in September. In fact I was feeling so great that I was able to lift heavier and really get into my training for a figure competition. So after about 6 weeks I backed off from doing my MAT isometrics…
And then they dwindled…
To a stop.
I was feeling great, so why continue the exercises?
Wasn’t I healed?
Well, sometimes maintenance is the key.
MAT helps keep the muscles around your joints stable. So, without continuing with the isometrics, by November the discomfort was getting to the point where I could not sleep. I was getting weaker in the gym, and I was feeling more discomfort within a day or two after my Sunday trail runs.
Physical Therapy: Beyond My Better Judgment ?
Apparently so in this instance. After three visits to PT at Kaiser in October, November, and December, I was actually worse. He couldn’t figure it out. But he did think the MAT exercises, which I had brought with me from September’s session with Paul, were helping. Yes they were!
So. since PT didn’t help I decided a visit to an Orthopedic surgeon was in order, to rule out anything more serious. However, with Kaiser I had to continue to suffer a few more weeks before I could get in to see the first doc in January.
Ouch!
But by late December the pain was getting so I couldn’t walk or sleep. My range of motion in my right hip had decreased considerably and I was having a hard time with squatting down evenly, so I decided to see Paul again to see if he could work his ninja magic. Check out Debby in wide squat. NOTE: Videos are sideways, sorry!!
When I revisited Paul that first time in January-the 18th to be exact- I strategically parked my car very close to Paul’s door so I wouldn’t have to walk very far. But even walking across the street was more akin to a hobble.
He spent almost 2 hours with me. I walked out 80% pain free. Six days later, to work more on my hip mobility and to address any lingering pain, I saw him again.
I made sure to capture what Paul does on video so you can see there is no sleight of hand!
Really, check out these videos NOTE: They are sideways, sorry!
The Takeaway
After Paul is all done (and it’s not about the clock, but more about when you are out of pain) the isometric exercises he gives you for the first time seem a bit strange. You will find yourself lying on the floor, rotating your feet and legs in or out; sometimes raised; pulling or pushing, using straps and bolsters; lightly pushing against a barriers for 6 seconds, resting a few, pushing for 6, and repeating 6 times with each exercise he gives you.
Like I said before, it seems crazy but it works.
The Economies of MAT
One of the great benefits of using MAT is that you only have to go once or twice to get to the root of the problem. And typically you should perform the isometrics to keep your body in check.
Some people back off from continuing the isometrics-like I did- once they are feeling less, or no pain at all. But if you do find yourself feeling tweaks of pain creeping back you can sometimes ‘Jump Start’ your muscles into a pain free state by going back to the isometric exercises.
But you know what?
MAT works. I mean I train hard; and I’ve been known to be called the ‘Super-Human Woman’ at the gym! So I’m bound to get out of whack once in a while. Yet every time I have visited Paul for pain or tightness in my muscles or joints I have walked away just about pain free.
My first orthopedic doctor’s solution was to pump me full of anti inflammatory drugs and stretch, stretch, stretch. Based on the principles of MAT both were the wrong approach.
Why?
Drugs cost money; are a band-aid approach; and don’t get to the root of the pain. Not to mention the countless times back and forth to PT that can drain your pocket book.
MAT…The New Motrin
MAT is great news for anyone who doesn’t like to take pain killers or spend their hard earned money on prescriptions and insurance co-pays month after month, or give in to the pharmaceutical companies and Western medicine.
With Paul’s help and with some new exercises I now have the pain in my hip at bay. I make sure to do them before I go to bed and sometimes before and even during my workouts. With less pain in my hip, I also sleep much better. And if I’ve been remiss in my isometric duties my body will tell me that I need to get down on the floor again!
The Key To Pain Free
I really urge anyone who is feeling tightness or pain to go see Paul Ciske; or seek out a MAT specialist in your area. Generally you’re given less than 10 minutes of exercises to do 2-3 X’s a day.
Not too much to ask of if you want to be pain free.
What About You?
Is pain cramping your lifestyle? (No pun intended)
Tell me your story…
Maybe MAT can help you, too.
Oh Ya, Forgot...
BTW: Did I mention I saw a second orthopedic surgeon?
Stay tuned…the story isn’t over just yet.
Make it Your Fit Day with DebbyK!
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