Although some of Valeo’s patients find Valeo strictly to maintain good health, many people are led here because of an ailment or injury. Hunter is no exception. A self-proclaimed former “squishy nerd,” Hunter’s forage into fitness ended up causing a few issues.
“After college, when I began getting into fitness, I over-did it and was working out too much: two hours a day, five or six days a week. It was more than my body could take. That was on top of recently coming off another injury,” he explains. The culmination of stress on his body and the pain resulting from it led him to Google chiropractic near him.
Finding a Trustworthy Clinic
Being the tech-savvy man he is, Hunter knew to look for a chiropractor with the great Google reviews. “What separated Valeo from the others, though, was not just the great reviews but also the Christian element, which really jumped out at me,” explains Hunter. “Since I wasn’t exactly sure what kind of care I needed and didn’t have a lot of money to throw around, I wanted to make sure I was getting an opinion from someone I could trust. Seeing a company with Christian values made me more confident in their trustworthiness.”
Although Hunter’s financial situation prevented him from coming in to get adjusted regularly, he was able to come in here and there to maintain his body as best he could. Eventually, he sustained another injury… but this time he had a better job and was interested in knowing what else he could do to support his healing and future maintenance.
Implementing Soft Tissue Work
“I had been doing a lot of research for how to help heal and had been seeing a lot of positive information about soft tissue work,” says Hunter, “so I asked the front desk if that’s a service at Valeo.” The front desk helped set Hunter up with a massage plan, which is eventually what led him to seeing Michelle.
“Working with Michelle has been very different than any massage I’ve received in the past!” exclaims Hunter. “With ‘typical’ massage, you have a whole-body mentality, and with Michelle’s advanced body work (I see why Valeo doesn’t necessarily term it as ‘massage’), we might spend a whole session on one specific body part… like the little toes. Luckily, before I saw her, I had done enough research to be familiar with the concept of fascia work, so I was willing to try it.”
Hunter’s acute awareness of his own body allowed him to hone in on the subtle, yet specific changes resulting from his sessions with Michelle.
“I was really impressed after my first session! I was doing a lot of sprinting and long walks at the time and always had a challenging time with glute activation and just from the session working on my little toes, I noticed several improvements. My stride, glute activation, awareness of foot position, and control all improved,” lists Hunter. “I was impressed so decided to come back again… this type of work isn’t ‘one and done’… even though I saw improvements, I knew there was more to do.”
Use It or Lose It
Hunter made sure to get the most out of his sessions with Michelle by continuing to be cognizant of taking advantage of the subtle improvements he was making with each visit. “Michelle’s work basically gave me a running start, but to make sure I could improve more quickly, I had to teach my body how to use the improvements she uncovered, if that makes sense.”
After a few more sessions working on other body parts, Hunter is happy to report that not only has his grip strength has improved (which helps his ability to do bicep curls, pull ups, lat activation, and more) but getting fascia work done on his core is also helping to make progress on a six-year-old injury that other care hadn’t improved.
Moving Away from the Mega-Stride Mindset
Like most active people who have sustained an injury, Hunter was hoping that he would make mega-strides in healing at a record pace. Of course, we know that injuries, especially ones that have been an issue for multiple years, rarely heal without time and effort.
“I really appreciated Michelle’s patience with me trying to figure stuff out and coming in with mentality that I want to make BIG strides and being sick of an injury,” shares Hunter. “I’ve really enjoyed my sessions with her and look forward to seeing what other improvements are around the corner!”
If you’re interested in scheduling an advanced body work session with Michelle, call our office at 952-949-0676.
