CO post#1

Its been a little over two and a half weeks since I arrived in Colorado.  Its been warm but at the same time, one of the best places you can be to beat the summer heat.  My trip has had a different tempo compared to last year at the same time.  I have been recovering from a shoulder/lat injury from February and that has effected my desire to push hard.  Nothing is more crippling to an athlete mentally and physically than a persistent injury.  It keeps you from performing at your peak and can devastate your desire to continue to push your limits. On our 3rd or 4th day on the trip I re-tweaked my lat and made an appointment to see a Physical Therapist in Fort Collins were we are staying.

Wednesday morning at 7:30 I was at Jeff Giddings Physical Therapy.  I was lucky to get an appointment with such short notice and even luckier because Jeff is a climber.  He has insight that 20 + years of practice can only get you along with the insight into how climbers operate as athletes.  Jeff had nothing but good news for me.  My injury from February was healing up great and the new pain that I was suffering from was because of permanent muscle contraction points known as trigger points in the muscle that were causing referred pain through my back and shoulder.  Jeff used a technique called dry needling to release the tension and byproducts of muscle respiration from the trigger point which relieved much of the pain that I was experiencing.

Wikipedia Entry -
In the treatment of trigger points for persons with myofascial pain syndrome, dry needling is an invasive procedure in which a filiform needle is inserted into the skin and muscle directly at a myofascial trigger point. A myofascial trigger point consists of multiple contraction knots, which are related to the production and maintenance of the pain cycle. Deep dry needling for treating trigger points was first introduced by Czech physician Karel Lewit in 1979.

Its been 5 days and I continue to feel better, the best in the past 6 months.  If you are having muscle pain associated with these trigger points, myfascial release through the dry needling technique could help you out.  I suggest doing some research and if you are in the Fort Collins area check out Jeff’s practice.

Jeff Giddings
702 West Drake Road, Building E, Suite A
Fort Collins, Colorado 80526
Phone: 970.416.8342