Tightening Muscles

First of all, I apologize for the long delay in making a post.  I blame it partly on my own laziness (hey, I did hear about that two-year slump where bloggers tend to get blogging fatigue) and the fact that I made my plate a bit full with other things and interests.  Hopefully, I can try to be more frequent in the posts in the future.

These past few weeks have been rife with various musculoskeletal problems that lead to issues with my shoulders, lower back and, in some cases, my knee.  At first, I wasn’t entirely sure if it was just tight muscles or signs of an injury, so I even opted to take a week off from Kendo and Iaido practices to give my body some rest and see how it would react when I’m not putting in the stresses that I usually do when practices get rigorous.

The results for the first couple of days really wasn’t all that much different than when I started the hiatus.  My shoulders were still feeling tight and I could feel some knotting in my lower back.  Various stretches and a heating pad seemed to help temporarily, but the tightness would just come back after a few hours.  After a bit, I decided to make a visit to the massage therapist one Saturday morning.  At that point, the issue at hand became more clear.

As she was giving me the massage, she was asking me whether or not I was feeling any tenderness in my muscles and remarking on how my neck, arms, back and shoulder muscles were pretty tight.  Due to the limited time of one hour, she wasn’t able to get everything, but I did notice big improvements to how I was able to move around.  My muscles felt looser and my shoulders didn’t hurt when I moved them in certain directions.  In the end, I just decided to return to practice the following week.  I probably could have used a few more days, but practices haven’t been to bad as of late.

I did do a little research on the subject to see if I could get a little information about causes, treatment and prevention of any muscle problems.  Pretty much, there are various reasons why muscles tend to tighten up, whether it be through poor stretching, poor posture or automatic protection from micro tears of the muscles from exercise.  This can cause the muscles to not get everything that they need to repair themselves if they aren’t treated which can cause further issues.  Along with the discomfort throughout the body that can come from muscles operating differently, there can be a higher susceptibility to tearing because flexibility would be lost^{. [1] [2]}

The most important thing is that I was able to catch this issue early enough to fix most of the problems that have been ailing me for the past few weeks.  I was only gone for a week, instead of letting the problems fester and end up being out for a much longer time, similar to what happened to me last year when I was having problems with my back.  Another mantra that I keep telling myself throughout all of this is that I won’t stay young forever.  I’ve been able to run around and rely on my youth to push my body to lengths I haven’t experienced before and get a quick recovery.  However, a time will come where that just won’t be possible, and it will be even more important to make sure that I know how to adapt to the situation.

1. “Tight Muscles of the Upper Back and Neck”. Sports Injury Clinic. 2011. March 3, 2011. http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/upperbackneck/tightmuscles.htm
2. “Tight Hamstrings”. Sports Injury Clinic. 2011. March 3, 2011.   http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/hamstrings/tighthamstrings.htm

About Dehydration

Kendo practice last weekend was a special one. Some people from Indianapolis stopped by to have a joint practice that made the dojo very packed and very active. While the practice was tough and devoid of air circulation, it wasn't the most brutal practice I've had. Unfortunately, I made some poor choices and really paid for it when I got home and for the rest of the weekend.

In the hours of the morning, I usually eat a good breakfast and hydrate myself pretty well as I know that, no matter who is teaching that day, I will be expected to work hard. But, this particular morning, I didn't drink as much water as I should have. And while I was able to survive on that, I also went across the street to have some beer with the dojo folk like I always do. Getting home was fine, though I was getting a little sleepy on the way. But when I got home, things took a turn for the worse. Going up the stairs was a task that was more daunting than usual. I live on the third floor in my complex, so that only multiplied the heavy work. At the top, my head was pounding very hard as I unlocked the door. As I got in, I stumbled around as I took my shoes and Kendo equipment that was strapped to my back. I just spent the rest of the night relaxing and tried to take a nap with very little success. There was also the strange feeling on my skin that was almost prickly and felt consistently cold (later found to have a fever that was 100.3 at the time). When the night was over, I took a Tylenol and went to bed to go to Iaido practice. The next morning, I felt very cold and stiff (even for that dojo), but was able to muster once I got moving, but had to sit out most of Kendo when I had difficulty breathing and generally not feeling well.

The story ends up in a good way, though. When I got home from the Kendo/Iaido practice of the following day, I finally put two and two together and thought about the possibility of dehydration. My symptoms kind of matched what I had when I was dehydrated the last time and what I saw on the Mayo Clinic website. Once I started drinking more water and rested some more, I started feeling better as the day went on. In my case, I was lucky, but it really could have turned out much worse. So, with this post, I would like to highlight the subject of dehydration, what to look for and what to do about it if you happen to fall under this condition.
When I got home, I had a pounding headache and felt pretty dizzy as I stumbled into my apartment complex to take off my shoes and heavy Kendo equipment on my back. On top of that, my skin felt kind of sensitive and still felt kind of chilly despite how warm I made my apartment with the central and space heater. The following afternoon, I took my temperature and it clocked in at 100.3 F.

Dehydration is the condition when your body doesn't have enough water to sustain itself. As most of us already know, the human body is 75% water and pretty sensitive to any changes to body condition that it might not be able to handle well. In normal conditions, the water allows your blood to flow easier to carry nutrients throughout the body, including the oxygen we all need to breathe. The body also gains some lubrication to allow for proper movement of body parts and satisfactory functioning of the organs. Once you pull water out of the equation, the body can't operate as efficiently and has to work harder to compensate for the lack of sufficient water.

There is a large list of symptoms to look for to see if you are dehydrated. They include:

• dark urine
• fever
• less elastic skin
• pounding headaches
• dizziness

If you start to notice these symptoms, then it's a very good idea to stop what you are doing and try to get water as quickly as possible. There are some more serious symptoms like fainting and more severe occurances of the symptoms listed above where medical attention might be needed.

The good thing about dehydration is that it's very easy to prevent and treat. To prevent it, just drink enough liquid like water or sports drinks beforehand. During practice, listen to your body and take water breaks when allowed. Some dojos might not have water breaks depending on the type of practice and how long it is, so just prepare yourself well beforehand. For those that do have breaks or allow you to stop on your own from time to time, then TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!!! And if you're part of those dojos that goes out to drink after practice, it might not be a bad idea to have some water on hand to make up for the water you will lose from digesting the beer and alcohol and other normal body functions. If you get dehydrated, most cases could be treated by drinking more water and possibly taking a Tylenol to relieve the headaches. For more severe cases, a doctor might be needed where they can do a lot more in terms of treatment. There is some more information out there on the internet in terms of symptoms and treatment, like the Mayo Clinic where I got some of the information typed here.

The value of Kendo practices comes out with the intense mental and physical exercises performed during training. Despite all that, trying to tough it out for the benefit of saving face will only make you look ridiculous in the end as you're carried off with some sort of injury. Make sure you listen to your body and treat it well or you could end up being out for a long time, possibly forever through serious or mortal injury.

Crazy Kendo Week

This past week has been pretty crazy for Kendo and Iaido:

• Early in the week, the soreness in my left foot went from a dull soreness like it was overworked to a slight sharp pain. It wasn't a showstopper, but it really affected my Kendo to the point where it was kinda detrimental. I set up a doctors appointment for the following Wednesday (and skipped Tuesday practice just in case the pain is something larger). According to the symptoms, the doctor said that it was most likely a swollen tendon or something. Since I can't take anti-inflammatories like Aspirin or Ibuprofen, I'm out of luck in this regard.


• Wednesday was the first part of a taping for a Public Access program in the Northern Kentucky area (which means I won't see it) called Men of Bronze and Fire. I know nothing about the program, but Atkins Sensei wanted to do something to hopefully boost membership. Of course, trying to do some stuff with the little experience I have is a little daunting in front of a camera, but considering the target audience, I don't have much to worry about.


• I decide to try out Kendo on my foot the next day. It wasn't too bad, but I wasn't able to perform in tip top shape which is pretty frustrating. I later decide to skip on Saturday practice to aid in healing my foot as fast as I can


• Sunday was the second portion of the taping that featured the Kendo half of the program. Things could have gone a bit better if I had realized a bit more about the timing and knowing what I could and could not do during the whole taping part, but it was okay overall. The good news is that the target audience won't fully understand what's going on, but hopefully would be inclined to start practice to increase membership

Hmm, well there really isn't much to say here for the moment. I guess if I learned anything from this past week, it would be to listen to my body better to make sure I can identify and fix pain ASAP so I'm not out for several months.

Dehydration Issues

Something happened at practice on Thursday that has never happened to me before. When I got home, I started feeling very weak, had dizzyness spells, pounding headache, fever (100.4 F), shivers and had a hard time moving. At the time, I had no clue what was going on. But, after a talk with a friend of mine, I learned that it was dehydration.

What's really weird is that there wasn't anything wrong with me until the moment I walked into my dorm room. There was the general kendo exhaustion, but that was pretty much it. In retrospect, I should have noticed the problems earlier. For one, I didn't sweat as much as I usually would for the intensity of the practice. There was sweat, but it's generally dripping down my back, whether or not there is ample ventilation (which this room had great ventilation). What made it hard to notice was that I was going through practice just fine.

We are all told to make sure that we drink enough water before and during practice to make sure that dehydration is avoided. But sometimes, it takes an incident like this one to really know the severity of it. It's not to say that this was something that I never paid attention to. It was quite the contrary. This particular time, there have been some issues with meeting deadlines for classes which have put me under more stress than usual, so I tended to forget to do the basic things of showering and eating right.

So, I really implore everyone to drink lots of water before practice, and during practice if possible. Being in my position is NOT fun. While I'm feeling much better compared to 24 hours ago, I am still having issues with the headache from time to time as I replenish my water supply.