We are thrilled to hear about Cathy’s gymnast daughter and wish her every success in the future. Thanks for the amazing photo!
From: Cathy B
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 6:10 PM
To: physio@proact-solutions.co.uk
Subject: SJS
Dearest Jenny,We are so happy to say that your recommended treatment plan worked!My daughter is a Level 6 gymnast and began having knee pain. I assumed it was because she was growing, but did not realize exactly how much pain she was in until I watched her do a front handspring front flip and saw the agonizing look on her face. It was at that time that I started asking questions about what this could be. We took her to the orthopedist who took x-rays (this was not affecting her growth plates), that the area of swelling was higher up and was not Osgood-Schlatter’s but Sinding–Larsen–Johansson syndrome (SLJ) and told us the typical response of ice, anti-inflammatories and rest would be her best options. Of course, they recommended taking time off from gymnastics, but warned us that the same symptoms could come back and that this would not go away until she was either done growing or done doing high impact sports. Her competition season was just around the corner so taking time off was not high on her list and the recommended anti-inflammatories was not something I was willing to put her body through. We did begin icing after every workout and I started her on USANA’s Proflavanol (natural anti-inflammatory). Unfortunately, however, these two measures were not enough. I began to research everything on my own and was so fortunate to find The Strickland Protocol. I hestitated at first with purchasing the program, but then I saw the research papers that were written and the success that Ms. Strickland had with her program. I felt that my daughter had nothing to lose and everything to gain so I purchased the program.One of the first things I noticed was that she was going to have to take approximately three weeks off from gymnastics. We were about four weeks out from her first competition. I talked with her coaches who agreed that she had nothing to lose, and that even if this program did not work for her, she could catch up after a few gymnastics meets and be back to where she was before taking some time from practice. It also helped that it was Christmas time and she wouldn’t be in the gym as much.
So, under the guidance of Ms. Strickland, we took the plunge and followed her protocol to a tee. The wall squat was a tough one for us to measure. This was something that my daughter does for strength training. However, if she focused on her knees, went really slow and then stopped when she felt the slightest twinge of pain or discomfort, we were then able to measure her progress.
After three weeks, my daughter went back to the gym. This is where I did not follow the guidelines (which I do not recommend) Since she had a competition two days away, we let her go back and do her routines (not recommended at all in the program). We continued with the ice, natural anti-inflammatories, stretching and everything else that went with the program, and she was able to compete in her first meet without any pain whatsoever! We are now three weeks back into gymnastics and still pain-free! Thank you, thank you, thank you Ms. Strickland for this amazing protocol! Your knowledge and guidance have allowed my daughter to continue with the sport she loves, thriving and succeeding without painful knees! Interestingly, the majority of the people thought we were nuts for trying this out-of-the-box therapy. Don’t let that stop you from giving it a try. Without the Strickland Protocol, my daughter would be watching her teammates from the sidelines.
Sincerely,
Cathy B
The surname has been changed, to protect the identity of the parents. The e-mail address may contain typos as we have taken it straight from Outlook and pasted it onto this blog. |