The media speaks to society wishing to never get old with all of the anti-aging products and services that are available to consumers. Perhaps it might be more accurate to suggest that we DO want to age as no one wants to die young, but we want to AGE GRACEFULLY and not appear like the senior on that signage.

The reason that the joints revert to flexion with aging is due to the build up of myofascial restriction in the body. Inevitably, “What’s that?” and “What can I do about it?” are your next two questions.

Well, myofascial restriction is what happens when inappropriate repairs occur repeatedly in the body as a result of repetitive strain, injury, surgical incisions, sedentary activity among other reasons.  The good news is that this build up can be reversed and then maintained with consistent but relatively easy effort on the part of the patient.

These repairs are highly disorganized fibrous matts that don’t just attach to what you have injured, but also adhere to other muscle, tendon, ligament, membranes, skin and even sometimes organs around it.  This means that once your injury is healed, the muscle is now attached to these other structures which limit its ability to fully contract or stretch which results in the change in posture as well as pain.

As the decades pass and you continue to give your body reason to tear and repair, more and more of it builds up like the rings of a tree. Though it’s easier to reverse when the repairs are fresh, it can always be reduced with techniques like Myofascial Release.

The road to recovery is sometimes a little longer and bumpier than we have patience for, my friend.  Of all joint replacements, knee patients often bounce back fairly quickly but everyone’s timeline is a little bit different and dependent upon the rest of their medical history.

My first question would be around your level of activity — have you been doing your exercises consistently?  Are you continuing to push yourself a little?  This is not a suggestion that you should be signing up for the Calgary Marathon in May this year, but the 5km Family Walk might be a good goal for you if you’ve been cleared for exercise by your doctor.

Joints and the structures around them are meant to be moved.  The less we move them, the less the want to move because adhesions begin to build up regardless of a surgical intervention.  In your case, you also have some large incisions (likely from the lower part of your thigh through the center of your knee cap) which will also become stuck to the muscles and tendons below.  This can create a “tight” feeling and is a common complaint area when doing stairs.

Soft tissue manipulation techniques like myofascial release and myofascial cupping are excellent at kick-starting the process of flexibility however it is not just up to your therapist to make things happen.  YOU are your greatest asset!  Consistent movement like stretching, yoga, aquafit, walking, biking, stair climbing will keep things progressing between appointments.

When our recovery takes longer than our neighbor’s or is greater than our doctor expected it to be it is easy to become discouraged.  If you have real fears around the success of your procedure, I suggest that you have an honest heart-to-heart with your surgeon and express your concerns.  Try not to be confrontational with your doctor as this may result in a defensive response.  Instead, be candid about your concerns and ask for confirmation that what you’re experiencing falls within your surgeon’s expectations.  Suggest that you are concerned that your activities might be making it worse and be honest about what you are doing or not doing.  This is truly the best way to clear the air and get you in a position to move forward with progress.

If your doctor confirms that your surgery has been a success and you’ve been cleared for all therapy and movement, it might be time to reassess what you have been doing.  As Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing you’ve always done and expecting a different result.”  If you’re not as far along as you’d hoped at the 9-month post-operative, it might be time to shake it up.  Try a new therapy… or try a new therapist.  Sometimes a new opinion and breath fresh motivation and renewed motivation into a patient.

I’d also question the extent of your existing treatment — are you just getting your knee worked on or are you addressing the front and back of the thigh and calf?  Your glutes (buttocks)? Your other leg? The circumstance that lead to your knee replacement was likely a progressive degenerative process which had detrimental effects on your knee as well as all the structures around it from a strength and flexibility perspective.  Therefore, as you have been adapting to your new joint, you still have some “old junk” in other tissues that might need to be overhauled.  Have your therapist check out anything else that might be altering your gait and contributing to your pain cycle.

Perseverance pays.  Don’t give up.  Give me a call and I’ll do my best to help you out!

SCENARIO:  You’ve taken the long diving trek home for Christmas vacation and have enjoyed the luscious perk of warm leather seats for the whole 2 hour+ journey.

How could either scenario be anything but therapeutic goodness for the muscles or the senses?  My friend, chronic pain lurks in them there seats!

Being on the slopes all day using your hip flexors to dodge ski bunnies and moguls alike is an awesome work out.  Enjoying the crisp air and the fluffy snow is a great way to work up a sweat and use some muscles that may otherwise sit fairly stagnant over the winter.  When it is time to stop for the day, icing those recently taxed muscles is the better way to prevent the tender stiffness of tomorrow, but that just somehow seems wrong to us mentally after spending a day in the snow.  Creating a constant heat source adds to the recent inflammation in your hip flexors from the day’s activities and creates a hip flexor contracture.  Inflammation is pressure and  pressure is pain.

In the second scenario the damage is done without extensive exercise but the result is the same.  Heating any body part excessively still creates congestion in the area.  Congestion is where blood gets into the area but doesn’t easily get out, thus creating a reason for that onset of back stiffness after the long drive.  This is made worse by the fact that you’re sitting still for extended periods of time (hours) which then does not allow for natural lengthening and shortening of these muscles.

There is no doubt that the season of cold weather brings in an onslaught of car seat heater “injuries”.  I know — just like you, I too enjoy the perk in my leather seats, however I have seen the judgement error in having them in use for too long or too often which leads to an ugly end — chronic back pain from a hip flexor contracture, specifically the iliopsoas muscles.

A wiser use of this vehicular option would  be to turn them on until they are warm (10 minutes or so) and then turn them off.  This will take the chill off but not be long enough to create any damage.  If you suffer from back pain regularly already, you might want to omit using them altogether.

Tendonitis is not just inflammation in the area but also actual fraying of the tendon when the muscle is repetitively over-loaded & torn more often than it ought to, ie: a repetitive strain.  This tear/repair cycle causes the area to build up scar tissue that further affects the efficiency and strength of the area.  Techniques like Myofascial Release or coarse cross-fibre frictions actually change the damaged tissue which can be followed with flushing or cryotherapy (ice techniques) instead of medications to manage resulting inflammation.

There are three common kinds of elbow tendonitis — Golfer’s Elbow (inside forearm flexors), Tennis Elbow (outside forearm extensors) and Triceps Tendonitis (back of the upper arm).  Sometimes Triceps Tendonitis is misdiagnosed as Golfer’s/Tennis which is why manual therapy techniques specific to those types don’t resolve the issue.  Proper orthopedic assessment is important so that time and money are not wasted in taking inappropriate measures.

Because the nerves and blood vessels that feed the arm and hand originate in the neck & shoulder, it is absolutely necessary to address these areas as well.  Consider how the flow of traffic on a freeway is reduced or stopped by an accident or construction.  This is what happens to the neurological signals or the blood cells meant to feed, fix or take out the trash from your arm and hand.  Clearing up these traffic jams higher up the chain is critical for a timely resolution.

Sufferers who become completely sedentary with the problem area as part of their “recovery” are often disappointed when the symptoms return once activity is resumed.  Complete rest from the culprit activity is not always necessary but sometimes temporarily recommended while a critical and specific stretching & strengthening program is followed.

The medication your physician has prescribed is likely meant to reduce the inflammation, but not affect the scar tissue, strength or flexibility factors which is likely why you are not getting the complete resolution results you desire. Consider also that by medicating to reduce inflammation you effectively fake your body into thinking you are more well than you are which causes you to continue to use the limb in a way that creates more damage.  This means that you are potentially causing more damage rather than encouraging a speedy recovery.  Medications can be a useful part of the plan, but not the whole plan.

While there are no guarantees, a tendonitis should resolve fairly quickly in my experience when the right regimen of therapy and home-care homework is followed.  Please give me a call if I can help.  Good luck!

Most likely, yes!  There are several factors to consider with your daughter’s case: the mechanism of the initial injury, how much she has grown since, her sport activities, and other accidents. When we injure ourselves (regardless of age) we create matted repairs that connect structures that should not be connected called myofascial restriction, and when multiple injuries occur over time these restrictions layer like rings of a tree.  Consideration needs to be given to growth spurts in injured children as this complicates the healing process as tensions are skewed further in unlikely directions. One thing I would be suspicious of with your daughter is looking at the sacrum, the sacroiliac joints, and the lumbar spine as it relates to the occiput (back of the head), jaw joints, and the cervical (neck) spine. Though at first glance it may appear that these structures are too far apart to be related, this could not be further from the truth!  In fact, they act as reciprocals to one another according to principles outlined in Applied Kinesiology, CranioSacral Therapy and BodyTalk.  I have seen many chronic cases of low back pain or jaw/headache issues make seemingly miraculous recoveries once their counterparts are addressed.

The biomechanics of an aggressive tee-off are decidedly different than the more gentle putting stroke, so I am sure it strikes you peculiar to be in such agony with a fairly minor physical effort by comparison.

The first 45º of hip flexion from a neutral standing position is controlled by muscles while hip flexion from 45º to 90º is supported by ligaments.  Given that your complaint is in putting, it is quite likely that your struggle is primarily muscular with possible posterior dural tension.  From a muscular perspective, your challenge may be a shortened pair of hip flexors called Iliopsoas.  Its two-part referral pattern is: A tear-drop beginning from the lower ribs down to the top ⅓ of the glute area;  Diffuse or “tooth-ache-like pain in the top half of the upper thigh.  Though the pattern has been well documented, people don’t always experience the entire pattern and often complain of sharp “ice-pick” pain in the SI-joint area, particularly in the first few steps after rising from a seated position.

While you’re not noticing any impact in your major golf swing, my suspicion is that this is only a matter of time.  Iliopsoas is a hip flexor and a core stabilizer that works in triad with both the abdominal and groin groups.  This triad, like a three-legged stool, is off kilter when one of the three components is compromised.

You state that you are an avid golfer so this tells me that there is likely a degree of repetitive strain that has been built up over time.  Myofascial Release, Myofascial Cupping and some Advanced Sport Massage might be ideal to assist you with this.  All three work with adhesions that build up on the outside of our frame through repetitive strain and trauma.

This is not the only kind of adhesion that could be causing your challenges — I also mentioned that there might be posterior dural tension inside your spinal column.  The dura is the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, housing the cerebral spinal fluid.  There should be about 2″ of flexibility in the average person which allows for supple bending of the spine. For Gymnasts to excel at their sport there is no negotiating less than 2″ of flex to achieve that walk-over successfully!

ANALOGY:  Tuck your oxford shirt deep into your pants and then try to touch your toes without the shirt escaping from your pants at all at the back.  This feat is impossible.  This is why similar dural tension on the posterior side of the dural membrane would negatively impact your ability to bend forward.  CranioSacral Therapy is exceptional at loosening adhesions and tensions which allow more fluid spinal movement.

My suggestion — if you enjoy your game golf game and want to make the most of this season, take the time and make the effort to get this problem looked after before you waste all this great weather icing random body parts from your couch.  Ice is best enjoyed in your favourite refreshment on the 19th hole!

Dena Liebrecht, RMT, SMT(cc), CBP, ESMT

Helping Okotoks & the Calgary area achieve their ultimate healing through Integrative Healing (& therapeutic massage)!

Consider that a surgeon thinks with her scalpel, and the GP often thinks with his prescription pad.  This is not to be condemned — it is what they are trained in and it is what we ask them for when we show them the last “domino”. Consider the General Contractor’s role in a house build — they are aware of the roles of each trade, know when to call in what trades and are skilled at problem solving unique circumstances.

An Integrative Healing approach is the General Contractor of Health!  I look at your history and body from multiple angles, I integrate a full spectrum of skills (not just ordinary massage) and I strategize with other specialists or practitioners who might help us find your resolution.  Like the General Contractor, there is some skill in excercising the order of operations however with the human body it is not always the same for each person. Over the years I’ve made a point of trying different types of modalities with different practitioners in order to build my network of references.

I am not saying that I have all the answers, but it appears that I’ve got a knack for asking a lot of the right questions which then lead to eurekas and epiphanies.  I’ve noticed that I often inherit clients who have been considered “lost causes” elsewhere and somehow we make an impact on their challenges.  I think one of the biggest reasons for these successes is due to the shift in my clients’ attitudes from hope-less to hope-full.

The choice remains in the hands of the patient whether to seek someone out:

• Seek someone out to cut out or medicate the last fallen “domino” OR
• Seek someone out to help determine which “domino” started it all and take steps to resolve the problem for good

How are you going to play it?

Dena Liebrecht, RMT, SMT(cc), CBP, ESMT

Helping Okotoks & the Calgary area achieve their ultimate healing through Integrative Healing (& therapeutic massage)!

Dena took the time to dig into my history and made insightful connections between my current condition and an injury from more than 15 years ago. I have always been amazed at the amount of information Dena is able to retain and share and the incredible way she takes a combination of modalities to offer the best care she can to her clients.  I am deeply grateful for the relief Dena was able to provide during my pregnancy.

I have given her name and number to many other moms-to-be as I knew that she could offer them relief from whatever they were experiencing at the time.

Erin, Okotoks

Although she was discharged from hospital with “no injuries”, the following was revealed over time:

• fractured C7 and subsequently damaged right C7 nerve root
• compression fractures in T2 & T3
• right 5th rib dislocated off the sternum with a cyst anterior to the vertebral body of T5
• herniated discs at T11-12 and L3-4
• annular disc tears at L4-5 and L5-S1
• right SI joint hypermobility

Fourteen months after her accident and after tens of thousands of dollars were spent on rehabilitative therapies, she was clinically depressed, 40 lbs heavier, horizontal most of the time, in chronic pain and working 10% of her previous work load.  Her previous life was a distant memory and she was no closer to recovery.  She shares her incredible come-back story thanks to MaxGXL, Max N-Fuze, MaxOne, and MaxATP with the intention that it might offer hope to the hopeless.

CLICK to LISTEN:  Dena Liebrecht, RMT (07-Apr-11)

Taken the day before I broke my neck and back on 30-Aug-08.

Taken almost exactly one year later on 18-Aug-09 showing my obvious 40 lb weight gain.

Taken in March, 2010, five months after starting the Max products and a subsequent 40lb weight loss.

Dena Liebrecht, RMT, SMT(cc), CBP, ESMT

· DISCLAIMER:  In no way is my story intended to imply product claims around “cure”.  It is my personal opinion that these products have given my body the foundation it needed to heal itself.  I also admit to going against recommended dosages and “doing my own thing” because I understand these products and fully accept the potential risks of doing so.  By risks I mean potential detox reactions such as upper or lower GI upset, headache, sleep disturbance, etc.  Because of the serendipity of how this unfolded for me, I never once experienced such a symptom.  I review this at the end of My Story. o I rolled my SUV on Aug 31/08 in the back woods of BC.  I was taken to hospital with instant neurological symptoms in my arm, pain in my sternum, neck and back, but Cranbrook hospital released me with “no injuries”. o In spite of my connections at UofC Sport Medicine Centre, my “expedited” care revealed at 5 weeks that I had fractured the right transverse process off of my C7 vertebra and that the piece had fallen into the crevice between C6-C7 and was compressing on my C7 nerve root. o Two weeks later a further MRI revealed: § Compression fractures in T2 & T3 § A cyst anterior to the vertebral body of T5 (behind my heart) § Herniation at T11-12 o On top of the chronic pain, I also experienced hormonal changes that had me throwing up with my periods… this was new to me… and no where on the PMS list is throwing up considered a normal symptom.  Consequently I had to pursue a private clinic that prescribed bioidentical hormone therapy.  This took the edge off, but never fixed it.  BTW, the reason my hormones were disrupted is because the knock to my head that broke my neck also knocked my pituitary gland about… which controls the rest of my hormones. o I continued to experience chronic pain and exhausted all therapies I could think of including acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, prolotherapy, BodyTalk, etc.  I suffered from a 40lb weight gain due to depression & sedentary lifestyle.  I began to work again slightly in the late summer of 2009, but my tolerance was one treatment every other day (Prior to my accident I could treat (6-8 people in 9-12 hrs, 5 days a week). o I was introduced to Max in October 2009, but shunned it for a whole month because it was network marketing and I swore I’d never entertain such a sales model.  I got out of my own way by November 1st, 2008 and started taking GXL and Nfuze. o I took the normal recommended doses of these products for 3.5 months (Nov 09 – mid Feb 10) and saw really amazing results in that time… from 10% of my previous capabilities to about 50%.  I was ecstatic! o I still experienced a lot of back and leg pain that had not really resolved so I paid for my own low back MRI that revealed: § Disc herniation at L3-4 § Annular disc tears at L4-5 and L5-S1 § Hypermobile right SI joint This diagonsis explained why the countless prolotherapy injections did not make an impact in this area.  Interesting how this now complete long list of injuries could have been missed by Cranbrook Hospital, huh?! o I then listened to a training call from Dr. Corrinne Allen (brain specialist) who discussed how the effects of concussion depletes your GSH and how not only do we need to recover our previous levels, but exceed them so that we cope with the damage to the brain.  This explained why after 3.5 months I was starting to drag a bit — as a Type A woman-who-can-and-will-do-everything-herself, my energy expenditure was exceeding my resources.  I kept my Nfuze at a normal dose, but began doubling my GXL mid February.  By April, I estimate I maxed out around 65% recovery, but I still had the need to lay down in public all of a sudden due to pain plus I had back and anterior thigh pain as a result of my low back disc herniations that was aggravated by sitting at 90 degrees. o Something interesting then happened… I took a driving trip to Salt Lake City (14 hours of sitting).  Anticipating the need to keep my focus and energy up, I decided to take a dose of Max GXL every 2 hours.  In a 36 hour period I took 12 doses of Max GXL — this is not recommended, but I felt it was necessary on this endurance test.  Not only did we thankfully make it there alive, but I had no pain for a whole 4 day period!  I also wore heels for the 2 days we were there… it was crazy!  Since taking that mega-dose, I have never had the need to lay down in public immediately due to arm pain, nor has my leg pain been debilitating.  It is there occasionally, but on the 0-10 pain scale it is less than 0.5/10 at its worst when my previous daily pain would be between a 5 – 8/10 in my leg. o In late June 2010, Max launched the new version of Nfuze I mentioned above, plus a new energy drink called Max ATP.  This drink’s energy is not derived by sugar or caffeine as many such drinks in the market place.  It contained a compound called RiboCeine that is an extremely unique GSH accelerator.  They have taken the delicate protein molecule that promotes GSH (cysteine) and wrapped it in protective Ribose to get it through the digestive system and into each and every cell in the body.  On arrival into the cell, it uses the Ribose to create ATP (the energy the cell needs to do its job) and uses the GSH to create Glutathione to clean up the biproducts of using energy.  A good analogy is that this product allows your car (aka cells) to run efficiently on fuel (aka ATP) without any exhaust fumes (aka free radicals).  It’s a clean energy. o Starting in July 2010 I started taking Max ATP about 5 days a week… it wasn’t 7 because I’d forget.  By the end of August the 65% stagnated recovery I achieved in April had reached about 80%.  This was really surprizing to me because I wasn’t expecting the Max ATP product to do any actual “healing”.  I thought it would just be an “in the moment” experience that most energy drinks provide… but clearly this is no normal energy drink! o I maintained the average of 5 drinks a week, 4 doses of GXL per day, and 1 dose of Nfuze until October 2010 when the latest accerator, MaxOne was launched.  MaxOne only has one ingredient –> RiboCeine.  The very same ingredient that was in the MaxATP that created the extra results I wasn’t expecting.  Testimonials from other people suggested that where GXL had created miracles in their lives to a point, MaxOne took their stagnant results to the next level of recovery.  I decided to give it a try and experiment a bit. o From mid October – now, my use of these products has varied.  I would say on average I my daily intake has been:  2 doses of MaxOne, 1 dose GXL and 1  Max Nfuze, but 4-5 MaxATP per week.  I usually use the ATP when I work out now, or if I had a late night the night before.  There are some days when I miss a dose of something and I don’t really feel any worse for wear for it now.  This wasn’t always the case though… What this tells me is that my body is almost at it’s peak for healing… I’d say I am at 95% now… and the rest of what I can expect revolves more around my own fitness and conditioning compared to where I used to be.  The benefits of GSH in my system is that the recovery from working out is like  I am 16 again (I’ll be 41 in July this year). o There is no question that I have been through the ringer.  I push my limits and I sometimes pay for it.  There is no doubt in my mind that I would still be horizontal most of my hours and working very little if it had not been for these products.  I could say that I have my life back, but this really isn`t the case… I feel that my life is verging on better than it ever has been.  That is truly a gift. o I want to also say that there is absolute wisdom in the serendipity that governed my dosage and product consumption over time.  Starting out at the recommended dose for a while meant that I did not suffer any detox reactions (which will happen if the exodus of free radicals is too extreme).  By the time that I got the incling to double my dose, I`d been on the products for 3.5 months… the double dose again gave me no adverse reactions.  This double dose continued for about 8 weeks before I attempted the mega-dose on the road trip to Utah.  Had I done this too early in my body`s “clean up“ I may have been tossed into a digestive or headache tailspin.  Adding the MaxATP experience 8 months in meant that I had a clear understanding of which product had accomplished what for me… and the same goes for the MaxOne since October.  I suspect that the extra 15% I`ve achieved since October would not have happened without mixing both MaxOne and GXL… why?  Well, both products increase your GSH levels but using different methods.  I feel that my body really needs the Alpha Lipoic Acid and the L-Glutamine in the GXL and those ingredients are not in MaxOne.  So, why not just take those supplements?  Well, the GXL capsule is proprietary and doesn’t break down til it gets into the small intestine.  Typical supplements are torn apart in the stomach and at best we hope to absorb 10-30% of what is on the bottle (if we trust what is on the bottle is actually IN the bottle).  So, the delivery system coupled with the added benefits of another GSH boost drives my dosage. o I plan to ramp up my workouts and strength training over the next few months, so I expect that my product dosage will probably remain consistent for a few more months.  By the time July rolls around I suspect that I will have tapered to a more recommended dosage, but how I feel will actually decide that.  There is no question that I will be on SOME kind of dosage til I’m dead… That’s how important it is.  That’s how much it has changed my life. o BTW, § I’m no longer on bioidentical hormones and my periods are normal again… § I sleep thru the night where I hadn’t for 10 years prior… § I dropped the 40lbs I gained in the first 4 months on the products (I was moving more, feeling better, eating better).  I still have a few more to lose, but I needed to lose those before I broke my neck! § The C7 nerve root that was compressed in the neck fracture was diagnosed as “dead” and unresponsive in June 2009 which meant that I was unable to extend my right elbow and arm with pressure (as in massaging someone or doing a push-up), and so I adapted my treatment methods and braced my elbow against my hip to push.  The prognosis from my neurosurgeon was such that this would never change due to the nature of the compression injury and the length of time from injury to surgery (90 days).  It has been documented that a damaged nerve in an optimal circumstance for healing will repair at a rate of 1mm/day or 1″/month or 1′/year –> this is unGodly slow for those of us with nerve damage.  In July 2010, my adapted method of work for me was still necessary and my measured upper arms differed by 1″ in circumference showing that the lack of nerve conduction to my triceps had resulted in atrophy.  Today “my pipes” haven’t grown any but I am now capable of doing “The Plank” from my palms with extended elbows as well as a few push ups.  For the record, I always hated push ups I am doing them now not because I have found a new love for them, but simply because I can do them.  )  Is this the result of RiboCeine?  GXL? ATP? New Nfuze? The comination?  Or wishful thinking?  Dunno.  I just know I am better. I hope that I have been of some help in sharing this with you.  Forgive me if there are gaps… let me know and I’ll fill them in for you.  I’ve not recounted this story in such a long time.  It somehow seems like such a distant memory now… almost like the experience belonged to someone else.  I’ve moved so far past it I don’t even think about the limitations of my injuries anymore… because there aren’t many. I am happy to answer any questions you may have by phone, email or in person.  My conviction around these products is not founded in a commission cheque but rather by my belief that feeling like crap is bogus and unnecessary.

Before I actually got there, a family friend suggested that I try a session with Dena Liebrecht at Body Kneads. I reluctantly agreed, not believing that a massage was going to help me. I learned very quickly that this is not your typical spa massage you see on TV! The first session was a little tough for me as I was very protective of my painful side and the slightest movement would send me over the edge with pain. Within a few sessions I was able to move without holding my side in fear of pain — the first time in five years!

Dena made some homework suggestions and helped me create a plan for my recovery. I am doing my best to stick with my recovery plan and I am still seeing Dena at Body Kneads. I am amazed at the stretches I am able to do and how far my mobility has come. There is no way I could have done this two months ago. I am extremely grateful to my friend for recommending Body Kneads and I am very appreciative to Dena for all she has done to help me get on my path to recovery.

She really knows what she’s doing. My next trip to Arizona won’t be to the Mayo Clinic but for a vacation instead! Thanks Dena”

~ Lorraine W., 46, Office Manager