This post is written by my friend, teammate, and patient Mark Featherman.  Mark is an attorney and Master’s racer.  Thanks, Mark!

Mel Brooks once defined tragedy and comedy as, “If I get a paper cut, that’s tragedy. If you fall down an open manhole and die, that’s comedy.”  Nobody likes to be hurt, injured, or hobbled  by a bad back.  But when you’re an athlete, getting injured feels like a tragedy.  Not only are you suffering from the physical pain, but mentally you suffer as well, as you can see your fitness disappearing, while your competitors are getting stronger.

A few weeks ago I threw my back out during cross practice.  For most of my adult life, I’ve suffered from back pain.  For about the last ten years it’s mostly been under control, thanks to yoga and getting to the gym to work on the core.  I had a serious flare-up two years ago after getting rear-ended; I missed an entire cross season as a result.

After I hurt my back this time, I knew it was bad because it hurt to do simple things, like get out of bed and walk.  I quickly put together an action plan.  Step One:  get to acupuncture.  David Schiman, who rides for my team, owns an acupuncture clinic in Roxborough.  It’s community based, meaning you can treatments for as low as $20.00.  I discovered the magic of acupuncture a few years ago when I went to Dave for hip pain….and after the first treatment by back pain disappeared.  Acupuncture is especially good for back issues.

Step Two was a visit to Brian Stern.  Brian is a rolfer, meaning he does some deep body work.  His understanding and intuition about the body is so amazing, however, that although he goes deep, he does not cause (too much) pain.  I saw Brian after the car accident and it’s no exaggeration to say he healed me.

Two weeks of therapy with these two seem to have done the trick.  I got back on the bike after a ten-day rest and went to cross practice.  I did some hot laps, and, thankfully, the back held up.  Sure, I lost a lot of fitness, but I was happy just to ride.

When I get injured I tend to get depressed and angry.  But there’s no point getting depressed or angry about injuries, particularly for cross racers.  Anyone in the Master’s categories is going to be nursing injuries all season long.  When I got home from cross practice and realized my back was feeling good, I had an immense feeling of gratitude.  Sometimes we don’t appreciate the simple things in life, like health, until we don’t have them for a period of time.

MY NOTES (From Dave):

I’ve been an athlete for a long time, so I particularly enjoy working with athletes to help them recover from injury or to enhance performance.  Over the years I’ve had the privilege of working with many professional and elite level athletes.  I’ve worked with professional cyclists, Olympic power lifters, professional volleyball players, rowers, runners, tennis players, and the list goes on.

One thing always stands out with athletes… they are not happy when they are injured.  Being unable to ride or run or lift or hit the ball is just torture to a serious athlete.  And it’s torture for me, too, when I’m injured, so I completely understand what it’s like.  Some of my clients make a living from their sport, so for them, there is an added level of stress from being injured or hampered by a medical condition.

The other thing that stands out with athletes, is that they respond really well to treatment, often getting better much faster than the average patient who doesn’t exercise regularly.  The lesson here is that exercise is critical to good health!

One last thing, because I know you serious athlete readers are wondering …. YES, acupuncture can be used to enhance performance.  Certain techniques, points, and point combinations, when done in the context of what a particular athlete needs, can dramatically boost performance.  Some of my cyclist patients refer to a certain point as the “rocket legs” point.  And another technique can boost red blood cell count.  It’s like a natural EPO.  Come on in if you’d like to learn more!  We can help you increase your endurance, your ability to recover from races and ard training, and we can help you recover from injuries!