A client started with me this summer who could only begin working on her upper body and core during our weekly sessions. She had broken her tibia plateau in early March in a skiing accident and, while she could now walk, she was still undergoing twice-weekly physical therapy to help with balance and strength. The nearly three months of not being able to walk on her left leg at all had really weakened the muscles – in particular the quadriceps.
After about four weeks into our work, we began working on the leg muscles, with the okay of the physical therapist, so that I could take over the strength training completely after the end of the PT sessions. We repeated the exercises given to the client by her therapist.
Last week, however, nearly three months after being allowed to walk on the injured leg, the client was despondent, stating that though walking was no problem, she had not been able to build any appreciable muscle mass – and certainly no strength – in the left quadriceps.
This client, age 41, had led a very active life. She enjoyed a wonderful recovery from the surgery to repair the broken bone – with the exception of this muscle group. It
This was affecting her in many ways: Going up and down stairs was a challenge and she could not skip or run very easily. Walking posed no problem for her at all (she even walked a 5 mile race earlier in the summer, with little difficulty), but she was not able to maintain her full level of activity. She was very worried about the upcoming ski season, as skiing relies heavily on the upper leg muscles.
She had just a few PT sessions left on her insurance, and felt little hope for the full recovery she had anticipated.
During last week’s session, after talking this through, I realized that she was likely experiencing a bit of a “disconnect” – her mind was not connecting properly with the muscle groups in her leg – a common occurrence after several weeks of non-use of a muscle. We needed to re-build that connection, and the SuperSlow technique is perfect for that.
Her leg was not strong enough to do the “up and down” of the quad lift, so we started out instead by focusing on the “negative” part of the exercise: With my help (or that of her “good” leg) to lift the weight, she then held the force of the weight solely on the weak leg, and lowered it very slowly. The SuperSlow movement allows her to take the time to actually feel the relationship between her quadriceps and her mind as she holds the weight and controls the lowering it.
While we have only completed the first session in our efforts, the client was able to feel the muscle working for the first time since the accident. She left with greater hope of a recovery…and that frame of mind is crucial for success.
I’ll continue to report on her progress in future entries.
