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Last evening, I rode my Harley to a session with a physical therapist who is helping me deal with the issue of my severely strained, but improving, back ligament. The therapist asked me what activity was most difficult or concerning to me about potential future back strain so she could teach me skills to manage it.<\/p>\n
I explained that I was most concerned about being able to mount and dismount my Harley. While the therapist is rather disapproving of motorcycle riding or wearing boots (she is definitely a “sneakerphile”), she agreed that if indeed that was the activity that could well possibly be a cause of more back stresses and strains, that I should show her exactly what the difficulty was. <\/p>\n
So I rumbled aboard my Harley to the therapy center, decked out…
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\n…as a typical biker: denim jeans, t-shirt, and traditional Chippewa harness boots. The therapist told me to wear clothing that I usually wear when “engaging in your chosen activity.” She knows that certain clothes fit more tightly than others, and sometimes clothing can prevent or inhibit free movement which would be less straining on the back.<\/p>\n
The therapist met me in the parking lot with a tape measure. She measured the distance from the ground to my Harley’s seat. She asked me to show her how I mounted and dismounted the bike. She had me sit on it, and did some more measurements of the distance from my waist to my feet while seated on the Harley. She also asked me to put it in gear and ride it in circles around the parking lot for her to watch. I saw her taking notes (hmmmmm…)<\/p>\n
Then we went inside the physical therapy center. She had set up a wooden exercise horse. She adjusted its height to be exactly the height of my motorcycle’s seat from the ground. She told me, by the way, that there were no problems with the jeans being too tight (regular Wranglers are not), or the boot heels being too high (standard 1-1\/2 inches).<\/p>\n
Before I was allowed to mount the horse, she showed me several types of stretches and bends to do. She had me practice them. A lot. But supervised practice helps me understand what to do, so it becomes natural when I’m out there on my own.<\/p>\n
Then the therapist demonstrated a mounting technique on the horse that I can only describe as “interesting.” Swing my leg up from the high side, not the low side (where the bike tilts) with the idea that overcoming the highest hurdle is best, because you get your back and the muscles moving the leg and hips into the correct and highest position. This explains why, among several reasons, motor officers mount and dismount their police motors from the high side.<\/p>\n
She also demonstrated a slight turn during the leg lift that gets my body aligned forward with the direction of the motorcycle — rather than twisting my body at the waist. It is hard to describe, but it is quite evident to me that this slight turn from the legs, rather than the hips at the waist, makes a HUGE difference in reduction of potential strain on back ligaments.<\/p>\n
Once astride the horse, she then showed me a method to dismount — also from the high side — that moves my right leg out, places the weight on it, then move my entire body facing the side of the motorcycle (rather than forward), stepping back, and lifting my left leg off the seat. Again, it is hard to describe in writing, but this procedure reduces twisting and stresses on the ligaments in the back.<\/p>\n
Then she had me practice under supervision, providing corrections and instructions as I did the mounting procedure in slow motion. She also had me dismount under supervision, with instruction and guidance.<\/p>\n
She asked me to mount and dismount the horse five more times while she watched.<\/p>\n
It was close to an hour — the length of my session — so I thought I was going to be told, “that’s enough for tonight.”<\/p>\n
But no… Nurse Ratched had a different idea. She said, “I’ll be here for another hour working with some other patients. Why don’t you take more time to practice this mount\/dismount procedure. Like 300 times. <\/p>\n
Huh? 300 times? RU Nuts?<\/p>\n
But that’s what she suggested. I had the time and power of will, so that’s what I did.<\/p>\n
Proof was in the pudding, so to speak. Next morning when I got the Harley out to ride to work, I did my stretches, then hopped on it like I mounted motorcycles when I was in my 20s. I am sore — really sore — but smiling. Physical therapy with a drill sergeant is proving worthwhile. Thank goodness for great health insurance!<\/p>\n
Life is short: never be too old to learn new tricks, such as mounting and dismounting a motorcycle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last evening, I rode my Harley to a session with a physical therapist who is helping me deal with the issue of my severely strained, but improving, back ligament. The therapist asked me what activity was most difficult or concerning … Continue reading