Moving forward

Frustratingly my injury has still not cleared. It is a whole lot better but I still have a nagging pain that is stubbornly refusing to shift. This means that I’m rather stuck in limbo. The rehab plan has been sketched out, but we can’t put this into action until my knee is 100% pain free. So I’m waiting patiently. I found a hand cycle at the gym and have added this to my 'survival' techniques. It’s amazing how tough an hour of this exercise is; not only does it work arms and shoulders but it also challenges core stability and requires the recruitment of the majority of trunk muscles to maintain posture. This, together with swimming and a couple of upper body routines in the weights room have provided sufficient variety to keep me motivated.

All the upper body training has also produced a transformation. Let's face it, endurance cyclists are not well known for their upper body muscle (why put on extra mass that has to be lugged up climbs and which adds zero to the ability to produce power?). I’m no exception to this rule. Yes, I have always been toned with quite distinct muscle definition, a throwback to the days when I was a ‘circuit training queen’ but no bulk and I was definitely more Olive Oyl than Popeye. However, in recent weeks the growth in my arm muscles has been quite spectacular. As part of my lymphoedema management, I measure the girth of my legs in several places on a daily basis. Upon reflection it would have been really interesting to a numbers geek like me to have been doing the same to my arms and seen what the difference is. These pictures probably tell the story best though! Anyone for an arm wrestle?

Mentally, I’ve also moved on. One of the favourite sayings that I grew up with was “worry about things you can change”. My Father has many of these mantra’s (some of them of more questionable perspicacity than others), but this is an adage that has much merit. I’ve processed the stress and disappointment that my injury generated and armed with the knowledge that I can’t make it mend any quicker, I’ve progressed to accentuate the positive. The silver line to my injury cloud is that I’ve been able to research and acquire a shiny new toy.

One of the common characteristics of cyclists and triathletes is that we all adore new gadgets and equipment. Magazines are full of ‘tech’ sections with glossy pictures of new components, shiny bits and pieces and freakishly light parts. Even a non-mathematician will appreciate that two race bikes and eight wheels don’t quite add up when I can only ride one bike and two wheels at any one time, but I absolutely consider all this equipment to be totally essential. Half the fun of ‘buying’ is the research that goes into making the ‘right’ decision. And with time on my hands, I’ve been able to secure and try out a new piece of kit, the NormaTec MVP.

To be fair, I’ve known about this equipment for some time. I read it about it when the pro-cycling team Garmin blogged about the MVP (“Most Valuable Pump”) back in July 2008, http://www.slipstreamsports.com/2008/07/11/our-secret-recovery-weapon. Coach Helen and I started researching this in more earnest though once I got the diagnosis of Lymphoedema. One of her contacts at British Cycling opined that by far and away the most effective way of reducing oedema was through the use of a pneumatic compression device, and time and time again our inquiries and investigations kept leading us to NormaTec.

The reason why the MVP is so directly applicable for me is that it was developed initially as a medical treatment for lymphoedema (www.normatecusa.com) but has also successfully transferred as a sports-specific recovery-aid; a double plus for an athlete with lymphoedema. I made contact with the company and sparked up a great relationship with Gilad Jacobs, who leads NormaTec's Sports Medicine division (www.normatecsports.com). Knowing that Gilad’s degree was in communication, I’d expected his delivery to be extremely professional, and it certainly was. But what I also noticed from a lengthy chat with him via Skype was a real passion for the product, the company, and his total belief that the NormaTec MVP would truly help me. It really wasn’t just marketing hype. He was especially interested in my unique position as a ‘hybrid’, someone who can benefit from the MVP from both a medical and athletic perspective. It probably helps that NormaTec is a family run company and that they have all bought into the mission of improving the lives of patients; it feels like they do care.  I got a great vibe from our contact and, thanks to some generous support from Gilad, a deal was struck.

This is the thrilling news that I alluded to a couple of weeks ago. As part of the decision making process I’d asked around for other athlete’s viewpoints. Luckily enough, thanks to Si (my go-to man), I got in touch with Chrissie Wellington, triple World Ironman Champion in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and NormaTec user. This is what she said about the NormaTec MVP, “They are really good. They compress really well, and also pulsate with peristaltic movements up and down the leg. I rate them, although obviously it’s hard to isolate one thing as being the cause of improvement (athletically at least).” It was with great excitement and trepidation that I unpacked the box a few weeks later,

Although the use of the MVP was scheduled as part of the Lymphoedema management plan, when this was shelved as a consequence of my injury, so too was the timetable for introducing this management tool. Helen and I decided that with the anecdotal evidence of its efficacy we should press ahead and start using it anyway; we could always revisit the testing protocol at a later stage.

Fully aware that the NormaTec MVP is neither a cure nor a panacea for all the lymphoedema ills, that is certainly doesn’t replace any of the other management techniques such as compression and SLD, what I can say from the initial results is that I am VERY impressed. Its early days but I really believe that this piece of equipment can make a real difference. It has produced a massive boost to my state of mind and the sun is shining again. Much more on this in blogs to come.