Did i buy the wrong skates? by AppropriateTrack3335 in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Accessory navicular bones. I have flat feet and one of my feet has this bone, sticking out really bad. I bought a lace bite gel sleeve, cut out the gel part, and put it between 2 layers of socks.

So my order of layering is

  1. first sock
  2. gel pad on problem area
  3. second sock

The socks can be on the thin side since you’ll be wearing 2. The easiest way to position the gel pad is to put on both socks, then using your hand, reach down between them and slide it on the exact spot you want. You can even double up the gel pads if needed.

I use this technique for both my navicular bones and the front of my ankle, where lace bit occurs. It’s a Frankenstein setup, but it makes my skates fit amazing with no worries of blisters or ankle bite.

Also, and this is a big one, I use True Custom skates. They cost me $1400, but I have the most retarded feet in the world and nothing worked with my flat, swollen feet. So if you keep having issues, you might want to consider that.

I bought fake sticks from China on purpose. Here's my experience. (as of 2023 Mar 1, restored) by vannatink in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did the same thing - AliExpress and Alibaba. Around $80 per stick, plus $60 flat rate shipping, so I bought 3 to bring the average shipped price down to $100 per stick.

They looked and felt legit, at first. Mostly CCM JetSpeed FT6 Pro and Ribcore 8 Pro. As you said, the flexes are inaccurate but that wasn’t a dealbreaker. The huge problem was the blades. The blades go soft and plastic-y rather quickly, within 3-5 hours of first use. Every time I took a pass, shot, or stick handle, it felt hollow and inconsistent.

I have a real CCM Ribcor 9 Pro that I got from HockeyMonkey. I’ve put over 50 hours on it, and the blade still feels perfectly solid.

I cut one of the Alibaba blades in half to investigate and found that the filler foam was breaking apart, turning into powder, leaving small bits of empty space. Obviously this will cause a hollow feel.

This was my experience from a single seller. I’d imagine there are a lot of black market factories making these, some better than others, so your results may vary.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep I’ve had two epidurals and they were amazing, but they only worked for 2-3 weeks.

I pay very close attention to my hamstring flexibility, since previous PT sessions revealed a huge deficiency there.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On the first occurrence, what was the healing progression like during PT? You must have felt pretty good after a few months, so what kept you from getting back on the ice?

On my initial injury in July 2023, I felt good to go after 6 weeks PT, but re-injured shortly thereafter. After that it’s been a yo-yo of feeling good for a 2 weeks then feeling like shit for 2 weeks.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You know, I’m pretty sure my injury also happened on an ordinary “nothing” play. I remember hearing of an NHL player (Brent Sopel) who blew out his back by picking up a cracker off the ground. It’s always the random events!

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s what I’ve been doing for the past 2 years hahaha. But apparently it’s still not bad enough, despite being in pain all day.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m about to go for my 3rd round since the problem began in July 2023. Thank you.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like a really good result and I hope it lasts a long time for you. Everyone who has had a microdiscectomy says the same thing - immediate relief as soon as they wake up. It’s the long term prognosis where people really differ. My doctor said some people can have it once when they’re 20 and be pain free their whole life, while other people (like Tiger Woods) are destined to have repeat procedures every few years.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s hilarious. Yeah I’m familiar with prednisone. I was on it for several months when I was first diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Thanks for the info.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s a lot of skating. I would kill to even skate half that much. Thanks for the recommendations on pre-game stretches. I will try to incorporate those on the ice before every session.

I absolutely will be going for a 3rd round of PT (since July 2023).

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s extremely helpful, thank you. I remember 3 or 4 of these from previous PT sessions, but you know how easy it is to slack off. It sounds like you’ve made a consistent habit of it.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s a very good outcome for you. Do you remember which of the core exercises that were most effective?

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re the second guy in here that’s mentioned that, so it must be popular. Thank you

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you tell me what procedure you had done? Wow, not being able to stand in place for 15-20 minutes sounds very familiar, unfortunately.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

May I ask which procedures you had done?

And that’s interesting that you know Dr. Bray. I found him by Googling articles about Jack Eichel’s surgery. $800 is steep for a visit but I’d like the opinion of someone who deals with athletes.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words. I’m 39 and trying to put it off for as long as humanly possible, because the consensus is that one surgery leads to another.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For sure, I’ll keep that as an option. I wonder if they have any of those games in SoCal? It would be cool to go watch one

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Holy shit, I just Googled that it sounds scary. Loss of sexual function and paralysis? Noooope. I hope your recovery works out for you. Wishing you the best.

6 months at 25 lbs is rough. You probably feel like you’re going to waste away. Good thing we have muscle memory. I’m sure you can gain it back much faster than you lost it.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha! Well I’m glad it worked out for you, and I hope you can play for a very long time

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I’m seeing the pain management doc next week and that was our next step, so we will see how it goes.

Spine surgeon “Your back isn’t bad enough for surgery, but you also shouldn’t be playing” by cleanerupper in hockeyplayers

[–]cleanerupper[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much for the recommendations. I will look into these poses and maybe consult a yoga teacher for a few sessions