my fixing design for the upper back

with notes on local food in Bali

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I use three modes of practice, and I call them coaxing, fixing, and f-ck-ng around. Usually, I take three-nine days to focus on each and then switch, but sometimes fixing comes first and takes longer. Injuries happen even when you train with a qualified PT and measure your every move using expensive gadgetry. With self-directed practice, though, I have no one else to blame but myself when I slip and take a bench. It’s my time for f-ck-ng around, but unfortunately, my body is falling apart, and I have to go into mending mode.

My self-diagnosis is thoracic vertebrae dislocation or subluxation and confused rhomboid muscles. It’s not the first time I wake up experiencing pain and hindered mobility in my upper back. I am not the cause and effect guy, in the perspective where removing a particular problem could make everything great again. And simply knowing what’s-what doesn’t suddenly make me sleep well. But it feels natural to understand what is not suitable for my body, and I remember what triggered my vertebrae to “go bad” for the first time. No more long-boarding over cobblestones for me, period. I also have a long-playing “problemo”, and I trust my intuition that the funky vertebra is sitting on its tail, and this tail keeps growing. Therefore while I have to work with my spine now, I also have to go up the chain (but down it anatomically) and manoeuvre around the hip mobility and lower leg variability.

• Take 2 x 5 min ice plunges three times a week, rotating it with a 15 min dry sauna. My research shows that cold water immersions positively affect joints, bone health, and the immune system. On the other hand, the sauna soothes stiff joints, eliminating body soreness, enhancing protein synthesis and hypertrophy, and maintaining muscular strength. It also helps appropriately warm the body after five minutes under ten Celsius. I attempt to do sauna stretching: cat-cows with slow shoulder protraction-retractions and scap-push-ups. Resting my legs against the wall in an l-shape helps me warm faster.

• Stay hydrated to prevent muscle spasms, drinking fluids even if the thirst signal is not coming through.

• Reduce the time I sit and lay down without moving to a minimum. Take more walks with earpods instead of reading from the screen. Use the bed only for its original purposes.

• Roll each foot and outside of each hip with a beastie ball daily; also roll my left calf and left quad. Do the total body foam roll three times a week and two times one-hour deep tissue massage. I am still due to geek on how exactly the muscle tissue is connected with joint health. Still, the experience of any rolling and massage evidently improves my mobility.

• Use a lacrosse ball to massage rhomboid areas along the spine against the wall.

• Swim a dozen laps every day. Learn butterfly strokes (uses rhomboids) and focus on the stroke quality and neck rotation fluidity. Swimming as medicine, not cardio, so I don’t track the mileage but play it by ear every time.

• Mid-day post-practice meditation.

• Bathe at night with Epsom salt (magnesium) and essential oils (from the list below).

• Do neck CARs (controlled articular rotations).

Practice:

• gym conditioning: reverse fly (using bench, cable, or a band) & inclined pull-ups (to strengthen rhomboid and trapezius muscles), passive hangs

• floor work focus: ankle and hip flexibility, twisting and bending postures

• asanas: locust pose (salabhasana) variation with arms forward, garudasana, eagle pose (to stretch rhomboid), also garudasana arms virabhadrasana

• peak pose: grasshopper pose, parsva bhuja dandasana vinyasa (because iliopsoas muscle provides support and stability to the front spine as the rhomboid muscle to the back)

I remind myself to keep it mellow, balanced and sequent. I learned that most injuries happen to me not when I do the regular daily practice but when I stop for several days and pick it up as I never took a pause. Going too fast and doing too hard is never a good idea, especially when the goal is to put parts back together.

Food:

Calcium + zinc:

• bone broth from motionfitnessbali.com in Canggu & Balibroth
• Sardines (canned with bones) up to 2 cups per day, local Indonesian in olive oil sold at supermarket
• yogurt or kefir (coconut kefir, “cocobiotic” in Bali)
• kale, bok choy, watercress, spinach, arugula, asparagus, broccoli (+ Vit K)
• some types of cheese: Le Gruyére, Comté, Maasdam

• Magnesium (help reduce swelling, important electrolyte for muscular and nerve functions) + zinc:

• flaxseeds, almonds
• grass-fed beef
• swiss chard (+ Vit K)
• avocados

Manganese (formation of bone mass, helps to balance hormones):

• pecans, macadamia, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds
• dark chocolate (+ magnesium & iron, high quality “Jungle Gold” 80% made with coconut sugar)

Essential oils:

• cypress (improves circulation), fir needle (repairing the bone), helichrysum (repairing damaged nerve tissue), turmeric (anti-inflammatory), lemongrass (muscle relaxer), ginger (analgesic and anti-inflammatory)
• frankincense (prevents the breakdown of the cartilage tissue)

Teas:

• turmeric + ginger + lemongrass (for the same properties as the oils, also it tastes good)
• chrysanthemum (inhibits cells that breakdown bone and enhance cells that rebuild bone)
• marigold (calendula) (stimulated collagen, as well as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity)
• oolong / pu-erh tea (polyphenols promote better bone health and higher bone mass)

Avoid:

• a high intake of sodium in processed red meat may result in bone loss, but usually I can’t resist a good dry salami or pepperoni
• excessive caffeine intake can result in bone loss, I’ll aim at 2 cups and try to go with a single-origin V60 or a Vietnam drip
• everything that is “not paleo”: sugar, grain, bread, etc. (just a notion to a reader)
• alcohol (also occasional glass of red is fine)

Balinese Umami diet:

• confirmed island local: butter, coconut (+water), avocados, eggs, salami, sardines, leafy produce (bok choy, arugula, water cress, asparagus), honey (and propolis), chocolate, oolong, coffee, plantain, sweet potato, cassava,
• local or regional: macadamia, pecan, almond
• fermented: kimchi, cocobiotic (coconut water kefir), kombucha
• fruit: guava, star fruit, papaya
• national dishes: beef or lamb rendang (cooked with coconut cream, served w/o rice), babi guling
• turmeric-based Jamu Kunyit Asam and other jamu drinks when prepared using honey or without sugar. Some villagers make Jamu with coconut water

Speaking of the self-directed fixing practice. Why not go to a doctor and get a proper diagnosis in the first place, considering how much discomfort the injury causes? First, aside from new-age fitness chiropractors in California and old-school Chinese medicine practitioners in Asia, most doctors do not assume the whole complex of a patient’s body. They don’t have time, knowledge and genuine belief that the big toe on your left foot is connected to your thoracic spine. Besides, I am travelling, and I still oughta learn how to find good practitioners aligned with my beliefs without knocking on every door.

Second, while the discomfort is palpable, the base of self-direction is trusting the senses and training the intuition. And it doesn’t happen if I ask somebody else’s advice every chance I get. It is imperative to do my own research, underline basic assumptions and proceed with testing them. Finally, unlike surgery and prescription drugs, the above design can’t hurt. It is a lifestyle adjustment. So even if my bones and ligaments were in the best shape, I wouldn’t think of a handful of almonds as a complete waste of money. It’s always good nutrition. I won’t be able to brag about it all and show two numbers (before and after) on Facebook, entertaining a bunch of biohackers. Still, I feel damn good internally, which matters to me most. And I know that other experiences and skills will build on that feeling and contribute to getting more depth in work.