Last week's episode of Move Forward Radio with Jason Bellamy, features an interview I did with Jason talking about, 'Granny Gets A New Knee and a whole lot more.'

You can listen to the podcast by using the BOOK tab on my home page, by linking to
http://www.moveforwardpt.com/Radio/Detail.aspx?cid=a0f1affb-ac6b-45eb-af74-af52bf92bb3c#.Vce0q3j4v8s             or download it from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/move-forward-radio-blog-talk/id567114297

I heard from Stacy Barrows (fellow Physical Therapist and Feldenkrias Teacher) today, that an article on Physical Therapists as authors has been published in PT in Motion and includes comments I made in a phone interview with Donald Tepper, the editor.

I contacted Donald Tepper in March this year, to pitch him on an idea I had for an article in the magazine. He was generous with his time, and seemed genuinely interested in my experiences as a PT and Feldenkrais Teacher. In the course of that first conversation, he mentioned that he was in the midst of writing an article about Physical Therapists who were writing for the public, and that he had space for one more. He interviewed me the next morning. He was interested in the content, yes, but primarily in the process of writing and self-publishing. I spoke at length on both subjects. The following week I sent him some composite photos I had taken of the various stages of writing 'Granny, from first spiral-ring, bedside notebook, through large print and mockup illustrations, to the glossy-covered paperback.

I haven't seen it yet, but will post a link, or the full article.

PT in Motion is a magazine published by the American Physical Therapy Association.

Now that 'Granny' is widely available in print and ebook versions, I have begun the process of recording excerpts from the story and Lessons. These will be available via this blog, and on the http://www.GrannyGetsANewKnee.com site - click on audio Free of charge. If you would like to share these resources with family and friends, please do so by sending them to my homepage sign up. I will only use their information to send alerts of new postings. Enjoy!

Case studies:
#1 - J. At practice, Friday night April 27th, one of the 6th Grade boys came in with an ankle injury, wasn't clear when he'd hurt himself, but clear that he couldn't run for warm ups and that bending his knee so that his ankle flexed forward hurt the most.
When I finished doing the warm up with the other boys, and they moved on to drills with Coach Q, I asked J to lie on his back and began to assess how he was 'growing' the zone of his injury. With his knees bent and feet standing, I began to support his injured side to roll out and in at the hip, turning his foot to follow his hip. Every time I moved his hip his pelvis came with it, pulling the other leg too, and his low back. Already, after a day or so, there was reduced ability to differentiate movement in each of the large leg joints. I brought this to his attention by placing one hand on his other hip and pelvis, to help clarify the way they were moving together, and how they might move separately.
Then I moved his foot in the opposite direction from the in and out of his hip on the injured side. Asking him to breathe in or out in time with the movement.
After pausing, I placed his injured foot on a basketball, and began to roll it forward and back, gently - guiding his heel bone in different directions. His eyes popped, as he burst out with, 'that doesn't hurt!'
After walking-jogging for a few minutes, he joined his team, and while initially limping, by the end of the practice, 45 minutes later, he was fully participating, and a week and a half later, has no residual pain or loss of mobility.

#2 - T. T carried a calf injury he had sustained while playing tennis, for almost 2 weeks. When I saw him, he was hobbling, and had missed several practices. His zone of injury had 'grown' to involve his knee on the injured calf side, both hips, his pelvis, ribs and head. I asked him to scan his contact with the table while he was lying on his back. His assessment correlated with my observation, and surprised him. He was lying asymmetrically on the table. After our session, I gave him some movements to practice, and suggested arnica and ice massage with a block of ice, at the junction of the calf muscle and achilles tendon. I told T. that he would still limp over the next few days while he adjusted to lengthening the calf muscle as he walked with more even weight side to side. He got up and walked with a limp that involved his whole self, but was most amazed by how far he could turn to look around himself in both directions (this is not unusual, FM improves how we organize ourselves for all movements). 2 days later, he participated fully at practice, though I reminded him several times to do a little less.

So, it varies depending on the severity and area of the injury. I do know that the healing can be facilitated.
1) If an injury is addressed immediately, the 'zone of injury' is kept to a minimum. II have observed that the healing is faster when the weight bearing forces are carried through the whole skeleton, when effort is not added to the musculature in adjacent areas and beyond.
2) Gradual return is always preferable.

Sunday May 4th, 2014: a whispy blue sky, slight breeze, refreshments and so much love in the room. I couldn't ask for a more generous launch for 'Granny,' after all our months and years together.
Thank you to Anne Hightower for opening up her beautiful home to us all. Mokhtar Paki, artist extraordinaire, left his post as designer on the Golden Thread production of The Fifth String for a short time to be celebrated for his contribution of illustrations for the book. Colleagues came in support of a book that brings the Feldenkrais Method of Somatic Education into a traditional medical setting, with excellent results. Friends came from near and far to support the book and to enjoy the afternoon, the market-fresh blueberries - first of the season!, strawberries, cheeses, and sushi. A hearty thank you to Patrick Corkery, who generously donated the liquid refreshments! Thank you to Alvaro Villanueva, whose design for the book made it accessible and elegant, for which I am so grateful.
A special thank you to Cliff and Julian, who have supported me on this project, and countless others, in so many ways.

For those unable to attend, please watch the short video, know you were missed, buy a book or two, one for you and one for someone who needs it, and write a review to help spread the word. (Young Josie Green read the book Sunday night and reported, 'Mom, this is REALLY good!' - haven't explored the 3rd grade reading crowd yet, note to self . . . )
Please sign up on the home page to receive alerts for new blog postings. 
With great love and appreciation, Louise

There are many different types of exercises to do before knee surgery. The trick is in HOW you do them. Do you repeat the same movement over and over? Do you zone out as you 'get them over with?' Do you do them while watching TV or talking on or looking at your phone? Whatever you practice, that's what you'll get good at. So if you practice moving while 'zoning out' . . . you get the idea. 
So, let's look at what's going on when you zone out. Can you do it right now? take a moment, zone out. 

How do you do that? What are your eyes doing? where are they focused? are they turned inwards? is your jaw tight or slack? are you sensing your contact with the chair? how are you breathing?

Now, keep asking these same questions, and direct your eyes to look somewhere in the room other than the computer screen, so that you are attending to the sensations inside you, as you simultaneously take in your surroundings. 

Are your eyes working differently as you do this? Are you 'seeing' both outside and inside of your self?

Now, begin to look down towards your belly button, very SLOWLY. If you lose this sense of seeing 'outside' and 'inside,' return to the start position, PAUSE, then slowly look down towards your belly button. The 'inside' will include the sensing of the front of you shortening and your pelvis rolling back. The 'outside' will include everything in your visual field as your head and eyes lower. Continue practicing this, breathing out as you look down, in as you return to looking directly ahead. Now reverse that to breathe in as you look down, out as you look ahead. Go back and forth, reversing your breathing, so that you can sense which way is easier.

Now, get up from your computer, and sense how your feet are making contact with the floor. Walk around a little.

If you practice bringing your full attention to your movements, you will move with less effort and coordinate your whole self in all you do. Continue practicing zoning in and out till you can be in either state any time you want.

This series is devoted to injury prevention and empowerment, for people of all ages and abilities.

What are the best stretches to do?
Any movements that challenge you to re-imagine what you can do, and how you do it. How fast or slow, big or small, up or down, Left or Right, forward or backward, simple or complex. Instead of  thinking of individual muscles, which is not how your brain organizes you for action, practice variations of the movements that are required in your sport. 
For example, the hamstring muscles have a medial (inside) and lateral (outside) component, and pass over the hip and knee joints, so practicing movements that involve both joints, and multiple angles is essential. In addition, the hamstring muscles are mostly engaged while you are moving your pelvis over your feet in running or dodging, so practicing stretches of the hamstring muscles with a stationary pelvis does not closely model how you will engage them during your activity. The pelvis is the center of power, so engaging this area in combination with the lower and upper extremities is key. In addition, the eyes are engaged during all these activities, and where they go, the spine will follow. Bringing in variations of eye movements will add layers of complexity, and demand balance subtleties that more closely resemble game conditions. 
A huge bonus comes with preparing in this way. Rather than creating a false sense of 'me' doing things to  'my body,' and then trying to put yourself back together for a game situation, you are actually practicing being 'in the Zone,' all the time.

Sample: This W/E, I added a pre-game warm up for the 6th Grade Basketball team I'm working with. Moving from one base-line to the other and back, I asked them to imagine that they were ducking under a long low table, then reaching up to run their hands along a line of feathers, then dodging a huge rock to the left, then another to the right, then leaping over 2 deep puddles of water. Then doing the same while dribbling a ball. This covers moving while in a low position for defense, lengthening for jump shots, cross-overs, and the steps they take for lay ups, while engaging them in the present moment of an imagined situation, and laughter too! Fun and learning go hand in hand.

Next time: How soon after an injury can I return to my sport or activity?