I never believed in the power of massage or stretching. What benefit do I feel if I do a 1 hour session of yoga? I might feel lose for a few minutes, but the next day, life goes on.
Real Physical Therapy is a different level.
While a yoga session stretches the entire body (poorly), my physical therapist sees what’s wrong with me, thinks about what stretches, exercises, and massages would make the problem go away.
Originally I thought stretches were holistic solutions, until my physical therapist stretched my pecs in a way I never would have dreamed up. The length of time and pressure were perfect. I melted and have increased flexibility and posture since. From that single session I learned a way to do this while I sit at a desk. Every trick my physical therapist teaches me makes me feel incredible. I never knew I could feel that good.
My relationship with my physical therapist has let me discover two life changing items:
This is a crowd pleaser,
You know those painful spots on your back? This is your tool to massage them until they are gone. Keep applying pressure until they are gone. Its perfect.
A massage has nothing on your bodyweight. For large sections of tight muscle, working on it with a foam roller will make it melt away. Using my bodyweight to apply pressures for 20-30 seconds on various parts of my upper and lower back has caused me to shake violently as my muscles melted. Incredible sensation.
Step 1 is to take it seriously and care. If you want to feel good, you need to put the resources into learning how to solve your problems. That means both learning the PT, investing in the time to get it completed, and doing the exercises at home.
It feels incredible. My posture has changed forever. And I love “Mandy’s Stick”.