Magic mud
So, looks like there was another good reason to hold off on training last night, as my knee started playing up again (not my fake one, the real one :P). My knee typically gives me some trouble from time to time due to the extra work it has to do in supporting my body, and I think getting up after all the breakfalls last week pushed it a little further than usual. So, I thought I’d share a secret that may be a load of hogwash, but it seems to work a charm for me.
When Wifey and I were honeymooning in New Zealand a few years back, we came across this Deep Heat kinda stuff – it’s called “Therapeutic Mud” or something like that, smells a bit like Deep Heat, but apparently uses the thermal mud from Rotorua in the mix. We picked some up while we were over there as Wifey had mangled her ankles from all the walking around we were doing (though it probably didn’t help that she was wearing boots with massive heels on them from time to time if I remember correctly ;)), and the stuff worked extremely well. So, a while back I started using the mud on sore muscles – one time after a particularly heavy weights session both my arms seized up overnight and I couldn’t bend them from the elbow. Added some mud, and in a few days they were right as rain, and in the interim it took away the immediate pain I was getting from them. I’ve also noticed it has a beneficial effect on my knee when it gets a bit achy – sometimes I’ll do it as a precaution after a heavy training session, and sometimes I do it if there’s some general aching (like last night). To be honest, I really should have used some after the breakfall training last week as a preventative act, but was feeling lazy when I got home and didn’t. Hopefully I’ll remember to do the right thing next time 😛
I’ve only ever found it in NZ, and when my folks went there in 2007 (or was it last year?), we had them bring back a couple of tubes of the stuff for us. If people are genuinely interested, I’ll take a photo of it and post some details. Like I said, it may be all in my head, but I’ve found it does wonders for me, much better than actual Deep Heat or some of the other anti-inflammatory gels I’ve used in the past.
I should also start making regular trips to the physio to try and keep the knee in good order – I remember when I first started having knee troubles back in 2004 after I fell down the stairs in our townhouse that the improvement was huge after I saw a physio who used a combination of acupuncture and ultrasound (I think it was ultra sound, my memory’s hazy :P) on my knee. Ah well, I’m sure one day I’ll get off my behind and start 🙂