Hello from week eight (or month two) of Social Distancing World!
In this weird world, a sense of normalcy has settled over the land and the inhabitants are developing new habits and rhythms to fit a new lifestyle.
Laundry, household chores, and cooking have seen a definite uptick in frequency. Working out, putting on makeup, getting dressed for the day (in something other than “leisure wear”) has seen a definite decline.
I am generously calling my onesie pajamas “leisure wear” and I’m working on
sorting out that last list…but one things at a time.
During all of this, my general self-care game has remained strong, with one notable exception…physical therapy/massage.
A little back story…
About two years ago, through an unfortunate series of mishaps, I managed to mostly dislocate my left shoulder. A lot of treatments, many visits to a good physical therapist, and a fairly substantial amount of pain and discomfort later, we got my “frozen” shoulder fixed.
There was a glorious moment last year when both my shoulders were in great condition and I was working steadily towards a return to my yoga practice.
Those were my halcyon days!
Then I started painting a ceiling in my house. Well, in fairness, I started to HELP paint a ceiling in my house. And, in doing so, I aggravated the (right) shoulder that had been fine. Now, ten months later, I have what I suspect is a “frozen” shoulder on my dominant side. It started by manifesting as “tennis elbow” which I immediately brought to my physical therapist. We got the elbow feeling better but the shoulder started bothering me more. I stopped therapy for the elbow in March and was trying to get the physical therapist to work on the shoulder. Enter the pandemic.
I’m an extreme personality. Which is to say, I don’t do things in halves. I’m either ALL in or not at all. So I felt (feel) very strongly about mask-wearing and social distancing, We closed our office and went to mandatory remote working a week before anyone else because I felt the writing was on the wall. With all of the uncertainty two months ago, I didn’t want to risk exposure in any additional vectors (i.e. I decided to NOT see the physical therapist).
I thought – google, youtube, knowledge from the last time – I’ve got this.
I so don’t got this.
I’ve been stretching, strengthening, heating, lengthening – any “-ing” I can think of. I’ve been pressing George into service with trigger point release and localized massage. I am grateful to him for assisting me, but it wasn’t enough.
Last week, in desperation, I hopped on Amazon and put some gadgets in my cart. I’m not even sure I remember pushing “buy” but when I went back to check the next day, they were already on their way. (Though I’m throwing in my associate links, you are more than welcome to NOT use them or to pick something else. This is just so you can see what I’m talking about.)
My Self-Care Saviors
First, I purchase a Wapike Massage Gun [affiliate link]. I resisted this for a long time because they felt too expensive and possibly dangerous. I didn’t have a sense of how hard the percussion was or if it could hurt me. Well, a good one costs only a little more than a massage session – a thing of the pre-pandemic world where people touched your body to make it hurt less. The justification wasn’t hard. The selection proved to be a bit more challenging. I looked for good reviews, a good selection of massage heads (for different purposes) and a range of speeds. The one I settled on has 30-speeds where most only have six. I’m not sure I NEED 30-speeds, but I hate to be without them if I DO!
The massage gun is nicely packaged but light on instructions. The standard “large ball” head is very nice and doesn’t hurt at all. The “flat” head concerned me but actually seems to provide broad stimulation to get blood circulation to the muscle. My new favorite is the “pin point” head which provides a nice trigger point percussion. Ah. Finally some relief!
I think that George was a bit skeptical at first, being an eyewitness to my love of gadgetry. I offered to use it on him and he politely declined. I persisted and made him try it. Within a couple of minutes, he declared it “Best purchase ever!” I think that says it all.
Second, I purchase a trigger point device called Spring Thing [affiliate link]. This was my original intent before I dropped into the world of massage guns but I think it has its place. The massage gun is big, not unwieldy but sizable. The trigger point can fit into a purse, accompany me on a trip (if we ever get to do those again!), or just hang out in my car for red lights. It’s the ability to provide trigger point pressure without damaging your thumb, or just get leverage in an awkward spot. It’s palm sized and I think it’s pretty wonderful.
I would never have resorted to this if it weren’t for social distancing. I have therapists across disciplines who provide these services for me with fantastic results. But desperate times…
I’ve never been happier with purchases. They are next level self-care because I would usually leave this to the professionals. I will quite likely RETURN to professionals as restrictions are lifted and as I feel comfortable venturing out more broadly from my “nest”. But for now, these beauties have upped my self-care game and are a critical component to not only working on rehabbing my shoulder on my own but to providing some ongoing muscle release that I didn’t even realize I was missing.
George comes up with new scenarios where they will be useful almost daily. Today’s was to massage tired hands from digging a victory garden in his backyard. I’m with him. These both go into the “Best Purchase Ever!” category.
Do you have either of these? What other services have you creatively found a way to replace during this topsy turvy time?
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. Some of these links are affiliate links. If you click a link and buy something, I may receive a commission for the sale. It does not cost you anything extra and you are free to use the link or not. Product purchases for review are made with my own money and my opinions are my own. If product is ever provided or the article is sponsored, it will be clearly noted at the top of the page.
