Old 09-15-19, 04:09 PM
  #8  
canklecat
Me duelen las nalgas
 
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Location: Texas
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Bikes: Centurion Ironman, Trek 5900, Univega Via Carisma, Globe Carmel

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Knees are easy for owners to reach. Try some self-massage, including careful use of vibrating or percussion massagers. Some include soft attachments to avoid bruising bony knee bits with tips that are too hard. You don't want hard plastic or metal tipped vibrators knocking and bruising the patella, bony medial condyle, etc. If the massager doesn't have replaceable softer tips, use some foam or an ice pack to pad the bony bits between the massager and knee.

Add a good topical analgesic. I highly recommend Ted's Pain Cream, which really does seem to "reset" nerves stuck in pain mode after an injury has technically healed but still hurts. Read the research papers on their website. Sounded like hocus pocus until I checked the publications and tried it myself. Now I buy it for friends who say it's working for their old injuries too. However it's not effective on recent injuries. That just takes time and other appropriate methods to heal.

That combination finally relieved chronic shoulder pain that had pestered me for more than a year after an injury. Even physical therapy and chiropractors didn't help. But massage, including a percussion massager used to apply the Ted's Pain Cream, finally did the trick after a couple of weeks of daily use.

And while some folks avoid stretching and massage before rides, runs or exercise, I find it essential to enjoying a ride and finishing with less pain -- or no pain on good days.

There are various theories about why massagers -- manual or vibrators -- work. Maybe it's increased blood flow. Chiropractors claim it unsticks bits that are stuck together. I dunno. I just know it feels good. But use vibrators carefully and for only a few minutes at a time. There's a risk of nerve damage with overuse.
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