The Shakti Gymnast

 I have had Achilles tendinitis many times over the past two years so I decided to write a post about what has worked for me in terms of treatment and pain relief. 1. Ice and Heat. My acupuncturist said ice it if you want to reduce the inflammation, and heat it if you want to increase blood flow. 2. Hot and Cold spray. If you don't have heat with you, bring a Hot and Cold spray like Icy Hot or Tiger Balm. It won't feel super cold or super hot, it will just give you a tingling sensation that feels good. It will increase blood flow which is good for the tendon. 3. KT Tape. See my post about KT Tape and how I tape my legs for AT. 4. Compression Sleeve.  These are usually for long distance runners for during a race and recovery, but it also makes your Achilles feel better because it helps to increase blood flow to the tendon. They are also super fashionable:) 5. Ibuprofen. It is a anti-inflammatory and helps reduce pain. In the picture below there is a box of A

I purchased this product with my own money and all opinions are my own. In a previous posts I mentioned I had chronic Achilles Tendinitis.  My new doctor said that I need to stretch my Achilles more and I remembered that my gym has one of these gadgets for stretching.  I only get to use it before practising on floor, so I decided to buy one for home. It is really good for a deep stretch but I recommend stretching both calf muscles, otherwise one of your Achilles will be more stretched than the other. There are a couple of different companies that make foot rockers.  I bought the one by SmartFlexx. This stretching device gave me a good stretch and relieved the pain in my Achilles, but my pain moved more to my heel. Now I am using my Ultrasound kit, which I talked about in a previous blog post . This stretching device can also be used to relieve pain that comes with plantar fasciitis. 

I have chronic Achilles pain and a few weeks ago it was bothering me a lot, so my mom made an appointment for physical therapy. The PT gave me a few exercises and told me to move my feet a lot.  He did ultrasound on my foot and then I iced it for 10 minutes. When I got home I looked on Amazon and found an Ultrasound kit for $40, so I bought it with my Amazon Gift Card and it really works! It doesn't feel likes it works at all but the next day I don't have any pain! It is half the price of physical therapy and works almost the same, it is  not as powerful but it helps reduce inflammation and the pain. Here are some pictures of my Ultrasound kit:         This is the box that it comes in. This is the inside of the kit, it comes with a user manual, conductive gel, and the Ultrasound remote. The gel doesn't last very long if you are using it a lot, so I recommend buying extra while buying the kit.  That's what I did.  I've only been using the kit for 2 we

On January 23rd in Palm Springs I competed Level 7 for the first time.  I placed 2nd on vault with a 9.4, which was my highest score ever.  I placed 3rd on both floor (9.1) and bars (8.75).  I had to scratch beam because I did not have my flight series on high beam.  With an Achilles injury and elbow tendinitis, I had to cut back on my training in the gym before the season started so that I could actually compete!

Here are some snack and drink ideas for you to bring to the gym or for you to have after practice: 1. Trail mix.  I like the trail mix at Trader Joe's.  The have several varieties.  They have some with just nuts, some with cranberries, some with chocolate or M & M's and they come in big bags or little prepared packets.  I like the one called "Tempting Trek Mix" with Peanuts, Cherry's, Almonds, Cashews, Chocolate, and my favorite part, Peanut Butter Chips. 2. Organic fruit leathers.  The fruit leathers I like are at Trader Joe's also. They don't have many calories in them, so you might have to eat a few. My favorite flavor is Apple Wildberry. 3. Protein shakes. The kind of protein shakes I like are flavored chocolate or vanilla and I get them from Sprouts or Trader Joe's. Sprouts has better quality powders with Grass Fed Whey but Trader Joe's is also good and less expensive. I like to have my protein shakes before or after I go to the gym

When I was a Level 4 at Legacy Gymnastics, my coach told me to use a large pencil pouch to keep extra Leos and hair ties for an emergency at a meet. But, I found it to be more useful to keep things like tape, tape grips, hand ointment, lip balm, and bandages. I always bring it to the gym, just in case I need something. I like having everything in one place so I don't have to dig around to find things in my gym bag.  This is what my Gymnastics Pouch looks like:   What do you keep in your Gymnastics Pouch?

Three weeks before my State meet, earlier this year, I was warming up for my Level 6 routine on floor and when I did my round off backhandspring backlayout, I hyperextended my elbow.  I didn't tell my coach because I have hyperextended my arm before and I thought that the pain would go away. So I did the rest of practice with pain and it continued to hurt when I got home through the next day. When I relaxed my arm and straightened it all the way, it hurt and felt limp. It also hurt to put any pressure on it if I did handstands or cartwheels. So I ended up going to a Sports Medicine doctor and he said not to put any pressure on it and ice it 3 times a day for 20 minutes. At practice I was not able to do much, I mostly did conditioning and standing flips.  State meet was near and the doctor said that I couldn't compete. He said if I hyperextended my elbow again I could fracture the growth plate and the recovery time would be 6 to 8 months! He also wanted me to get a MR

I started using KT tape about a year and a half ago for Achilles Tendinitis (AT).  My coach was wrapping my foot with normal athletic tape and I ran out of it.  So, when we went to buy more tape, my mom found the KT tape and saw that there was a way to tape for AT.  Using Kinesiology tape is faster and easier for me to tape myself so I don't have to rely on my coaches to always tape my injuries for me.  The tape also allows me to have more range of motion compared to the normal athletic tape.   There are 2 types of KT Tapes, one is made out of cotton and the other one is synthetic. If you are not doing sports, I recommend using the cotton one. If you are doing sports, you should definitely use the synthetic version because it stays on longer, especially if you sweat a lot.  I continue to use KT for my AT and elbow tendinitis.  It helps with the pain and it is good for your muscles. The tape makes the skin pull away from the muscle and lets more blood flow to the injured ar