Knees

[Yuki's Passion 1]

Toque doesnt fall when hes skiing; only when riding a bike and walking

 

Ive had good exeperiences with Chiropractors too - got my body alined bout once every month or two. Had to in Uni cuz of all the racing. Also got massages 2-3 days a week.

 

One caution - make sure the chiropractor is really good before going there. One of my teammates got screwed and had to red-shirt a season because some guy screwed up his back more...

[mattlucas 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by soubriquet:
I can't stress to you young dudes with bodies like finely tuned machines, how important it is to have your back and hips straight to be able to balance well, and avoid chronic problems later in life, ahem. Get a tune up before the season starts and after any major stack. You reading this Toque?

My hips are messed up pretty good right now
I'm resting them though and only exercising on the bike. I'm hoping to get into the mountains soon though. Going crazy not being out there.

A good friend that I did a lot of BC skiing with this year has developed bad knees. We were getting out almost every weekend with heavy loads and it was kind of new to him. He can't do anything now and is fearing that his ski season might be screwed. But he is going to start strenthening it up.
My knees started hurting the other day. But I think it was cause I did a little too much on the bike over the weekend. They only hurt on Monday and havn't hurt since.

[montoya 0]

Knee injuries suck man. I had to give up bike racing while in college as I developed an anterior knee injury from overuse. The diagnosis was Chondromalacia, a type of patellar pain.

 

Nowadays, I am pretty careful when hiking on rocky terrain, and I take it easy going downhill (eg I never run on a descent). First few days of the snow season sometimes I feel a few twings, but they go away quick.

[misorano 1]

Montoya,

Find a "Seikotsuin"that accepts the Insurance cards.

First time each month is about 800yen, then about 500yen each time thereafter.

 

For me this covered:

1. The electric pulse machine (not to sure the proper name)/ about 15 mins

2. Massage Bed (about 15 mins)

3. Foot Massage Machine (about 10 min)

4. Massage and alignment (about 15 min)

 

Make sure you find a good one though as it is a fuzzy area of medicine in Japan and there is no standard qualification.

[gamera 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by montoya:
anyone know the standard rates for chiropractors here in Japan?

I guess perhaps around 3,500 - 5,000 yen p/hour.
It really seems to depend on how often you go there. Like first time 5,000 yen and if you go there again in a week, it's 4,000 yen etc.
Perhaps a lot often they don't show any tariff chart?
I have not tried chiropractic often yet. Just once or twice. Usually I try shiatsu ( finger point massage if I dare translate? ) which also depends on which therapist you visit. Sometimes 3,500 yen p/hour and another time in another therapist 7,000 yen p/hour.
But if it's your knees, I am not sure shiatsu works good or not.

[soubriquet 0]

As misorano writes above, chiropractic in Japan is a bit of a grey area. In Australia, all of my chiropractors had 4 years full time training in addition to a science degree. This is why a physiotherapist, with maybe 1 semester of a 3 year course is not qualified to diagnose and adjust. Cost in Oz is about $37 per 20 minute session.

 

In Japan I have had two, so far. The first was as misorano describes, but the diagnosis wasn't finding the problems and the "adjustment" wasn't correcting them. Think of it as a cheap massage. My current chiro is much better, but still not of the highest standard. He charges 3,500 Yen. Bear in mind that this is rural Tohoku. Soft southerners should have better choice, but will probably have to pay more.

 

A full service chiro will want to see a set of X-Rays, but I haven't been asked to supply them here. The basic diagnosis will be measuring the relative length of your legs and the distances between ribs and hips. There should also be a set of tests; with an arm or leg extended the chiro will ask you to resist as s/he pushes, then repeat while pressing on various pressure points. When they hit a hot spot, the pressure of a finger or thumb will take away all your strength from the affected limb. You have to experience it to believe it.

 

With the diagnosis complete, the chiro will then adjust the vertebrae into their correct position. There are three basic western techniques. The simplest is a little spring loaded hammer, which works well for minor problems, especially in the neck and base of the skull. The majority of the work is normally done on a table with drop down sections. They give you a good shove with the heals of the hands, and the section drops away when the pre-set load is exceeded. The big one used for really knotty problems is when they wind you up into a ball, get their arms around you and give you a big wrenching twist. This one can be painful, bit it's lovely when about 5 vertebrae go crack as they all pop into place.

 

My current chiro gives my lower back about 10 minutes hard massage, then puts his foot on my back and straightens my pelvis by pulling my legs up hard. Then he works up to my head. I know where the hot spots are, so I know that he is finding them. I also know what it is to walk in with one leg 2cm shorter than the other and walk out with them even.

 

Today I went for a long walk up a steep gorge in order to dip my body in hot sulphuric acid. I could climb steps instead of dot and carry, and I feel good. I have lived with back pain for 40 years, and it's too late for me to do anything other than patching up the problems. Getting things checked and fixed early can give you a better life.

[mattlucas 0]

I don't really know about Chiropractics though

 

Seems like if you have to go back every month or so to get an alignment that they are really only giving you a quick fix

[Ocean11 0]

I have my doubts about that too. The feel-good thing and the frequency smacks a little bit of addiction. Plus those cracking noises don't sound too good to me either. You should see what happens to the knuckles of habitual finger crackers...

[Yuki's Passion 1]

... I keep saying that to my students. Seems thats the latest fad is to see how loud you can crack your fingers...ewwwww, I have some kids who habitually crack their joints and it gives me the willies. I try to avoid doing that at all costs...

 

oh god, and this date I had last week, in the middle of dinner she cracks her neck/back and it was like taking the plastic you get in packaging with 1 million air-bubbles and wringing it out - you get like 200 pops at once and it sounds cool, but it was her neck/back...ewwwwww

[sunrise 0]

You probably wouldn't be into it (plus there's probably no-one in your area doing it), but for long term preventative structural health check out anyone doing the Feldenkrais method, Rolfing, Alexander Technique and even Cranial Sacral work (some Osteopaths do the cranial sacral) and the Franklin Method.

 

All of these are into helping realign the body (without the bone crunching of chiropractors), they do it in different ways, but they go further than just fixing the symptoms. Knee problems can come from the way you place pressure on your body when you stand and move. Sure, if you tear a ligament it's localized, but long term body patterns of stance and movement can greatly contribute to it happening in the first place.

 

A guy I know who does Feldenkrais method, when he comes to Japan (a few times a year) he works on J-League soccer players. The person I know here that does Franklin Method works regularly around the world with high profile dance companies (okay, dancing is differnet to sports, but it's definitely very athletic and using the body and placing stress on areas).

 

Do some googling to find out more if you're interested.

[soubriquet 0]

What a bunch of cynics.

 

I'm not going for the cracks. I don't crack my knuckles, and never have. When my 12yo was about 3 months, I put him down to change his nappy, and when I tried to pick him up I was stuck, in charge of my son and unable to lift 5kg. That's when I decided to get some treatment. I had lived with back pain because the GP would advise pain killers and rest, and if you go further, they start to fuse vertebrae.

 

I'm not into health fads, supplements or new age stuff. I don't go every month, just when my knee starts to hurt, and I can't climb. I have to go back regularly because instead of getting the problems fixed when I was young I worked the misaligned joints. Farm work, truck driving, heavy vehicle mechanic etc.

 

It's OK. Misaligned and inflamed joints, poor posture, premature arthritis, weakness, poor balance. And when it's too late, the drugs and surgery to treat the symptoms. There is a non-invasive alternative which looks to address the cause.

[montoya 0]

I've used an ergonomic chair (Aeron) at work for the past 6 years. At first I thought it was a luxury, but man, it is so much better than a regular office chair. No back pain no matter how long I've been sitting down...

[Yuki's Passion 1]

how much was that montoya?

[montoya 0]

Got it through a friend so I think we paid 100,000yen each. Retail is probably a bit more, here are some links:

 

http://www.hhstyle.com/cgi-bin/omc?port=33311&req=DIR&pageid=6193670&start=91

 

http://esearch.rakuten.co.jp/rms/sd/esearch/vc?sv=2&sitem=aeron

[mattlucas 0]

Let me be the first to say

 

[Yuki's Passion 1]

yappari na

my old company paid like USD 3,500/chair

Think Toque could ski for 2 weeks straight on that...or a few trips to pink houses

[montoya 0]

well, yeah, you probably don't need it just to lounge around in front of the tv, but if you are going to spend hours working, just think of it as part of your business overhead (and tax write-off).

 

plus you save your back, seriously.

[sock_monkey 0]

IMO a good registered massage therapist should have at least the same effect as the chiropractor without the risk or waste involved in non-scientific manipulations.

 

chiropractors seem (to me) to be nothing more than massage with impressive sounding/looking readjustments thrown in. at best these adjustments do nothing and are simply a waste of time (may as well get a full hour of massage) and at worst they can cause further injury.

 

i can't speak for Oz but in North America the practice is riddled with behaviour that can only be described as quackery.

 

that said, i'm not denying that you get real benefit from these visits since i can only take you at your word. i simply doubt that the manipulations are the root, and would suggest that people explore other avenues and get well informed before jumping in to a chiropractic office.

 

if you do choose to visit a chiroprator, pay attention to the claims they make. the more grandiose and far reaching the cure, the less careful they will be about what they do to you.

 

(if that makes me a cynic, i'm cool with that)

[soubriquet 0]

No no, I'm happy with that. The bigger picture is to not live with pain, but get any problems sorted out sooner rather than later. Chiropractic works for me, and it's non invasive.

[Ocean11 0]

montoya, are those chairs as breezy about the bum and back as they look? I have a bead cover on my normal office chair and still sweat like hell in summer, so I was thinking about getting one of those chairs just for the cool. Does it work from that point of view?

[oo 1]

They are bloody expensive, but I wouldn't mind having a sit in one.

[sava 0]

aeron chairs are awesome, I have never felt as relaxed after a day of work since I stopped working at a place with aeron chairs

[montoya 0]

Yes mesh works as advertised, it allows ventilation to your body much better than a regular chair.

[Ocean11 0]

Heheh, it seems not everyone is a fan of the Aeron.

[BagOfCrisps 24]

Love this comment

 

 Quote:

Overall, I have to say the Aeron isn't bad

It friggin well should be "not bad" for the moneys required.