Rolf Devinci

 Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of my cycling accident on my bike commute to work that October 21st 2021. Too say it has been a challenging two years would be an understatement. Physical blunt force trauma, life saving neurosurgery and all the associated fears, stresses and financial strain involved in the rehabilitation process. Despite the ongoing challenges I am still above ground and have regained much of my physical capabilities. Cycling is over for me now but I have embraced the gym as both a means to regain my strength and a sanctuary for my mental health dealing with the aforementioned fears and stress. My focus remains upon my well being and returning, as much as possible, to my pre accident fitness. Insurance settlement remains pending. Thankfully my legal team is doing the work and the negotiations. It does annoy me that the process takes so long to complete knowing insurance companies delay settlements as much as possible. It just adds more stress to an already t...

 To (mis) quote Mark Twain the rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated. I am indeed still among the living but have not visited, nor posted to this blog in quite some time. It has been a chaotic couple years with the whole covid pandemic, the unexpected death of my mother in 2021 and my subsequent accident of last year. The world tried to end me twice but I managed to survive both the auto/bike collision in October and neurosurgery in December.  No need to dwell upon covid as everyone is familiar with the uncertainty, anxiety and frustrations of the pandemic. Despite the signs of aging the death of my mother in August 2021 was a shock. I had spent my birthday (July 31) with her doing my usual Saturday yard work on the farm and she seemed so good that day. Needless to say the call the following morning that she suffered a massive stroke was surreal. As the executor dealing with her estate during covid was frustrating at best. The process took far too long to be resolved, es...

To say it has been a challenging summer is an understatement to say the least. That said I think I have things sorted out for the most part. Pollen season has ended in Nova Scotia and is it a coincidence that I am feeling much better? Sinuses, upper chest, ears and throat finally feel normal. Not sure why I would develop a late life allergy to pollen but it sure looks like it happened? Ragweed season usually begins in September so lets hope for the best come Fall. I`ve been having stomach issues but think it might be two actual problems causing some confusion. My symptoms have been bloating, discomfort, aches and just weird "feelings" in my belly.  I suspect I actually may have a abdominal/oblique strain from pushing some heavy weight at the gym of late. Located in the upper right quadrant near the bottom of the ribcage. That would explain post cycling/lifting pain and a deep ache in the area radiating down the right oblique muscle. Cycling i...

Having felt something "go" a couple weeks ago playing only my third game of ball hockey this season I have since been dealing with an miserable ache, stiffness and numbness in my upper left leg. Initially I though I was dealing with a level two hamstring pull but now suspect I suffered a piriformis muscle strain. Any extended period of time sitting brings on the symptoms and upon standing there is tightness in my hamstring and hip. Thanks to Ian who had suggested I look into piriformis stretches I now have a better understanding of my possible issue. Piriformis syndrome is "a condition in which the piriformis muscle becomes tight and/or spasms and irritates the sciatic nerve....patients often complain of deep pain within the hip and buttocks...." Bingo! I can now confirm I am a legitimate "pain in the butt" (wink) Seeking the causes of PS to further my understanding I discovered several that have a direct correlation to my condition......

Having started my usual winter of ball hockey I was anticipating the return to the game I love (and have played) forever. Having some lower back issues back in the early 2000`s I had switched to playing goal as the stop/starting running on a hard gym floor was wreaking havoc on my body. Once I began attending a chiropractor and lost weight (mostly attributed to becoming a competitive road cyclist) I was able to begin playing out as a runner again. I had become a versatile player...as both a runner and goaltender. Last year I rarely had the opportunity to play out as I left the ECBHL after several seasons and found myself busy in nets for Sunday, Monday and Thursday pickup hockey. I enjoy nets but was missing the chance to get out and compete on the floor. It was with that frame of mind I was jacked for the start of the 2015/2016 seasons. I signed on to be a full time goalie on Thursday, would tandem nets on Sunday(week in/week out) and play as a goa...

With Fall comes the start of ball hockey. Second game out of nets and I take a slapshot to the waist while screening the opposing goalie.   Ouchie......should have a lovely Picasso bruise by midweek.Lesson of the day.....those with low platelets should avoid speeding projectiles....😉

Age, athletics and injury have all taken a toll on my left shoulder, neck and upper back.There is not a day that passes without some kind of residual pain and stiffness. I could probably cease playing the sports I love that aggravate my condition but that would definitely be a case of the "cure being worse than the disease".So I continue to cycle, play ball hockey and practice traditional archery on a regular basis despite the discomfort. To take away my "play" would be akin to placing me in the bone yard. I believe the roots of my shoulder and neck issues date back to 2005 when I crashed hard on my left side crossing wet railway tracks during a spirited paceline on my road bike. I impacted the pavement with the hip and shoulder taking the brunt of the fall when my front wheel slid out from under me after making contact with the wet iron of the train track. The resulting hematoma on my hip pays homage to the severity of the impact. In 2011 I again crashed on...

Discretion is the better half of valour and I have decided it was time to step back and try and get my continuing shoulder issues resolved before the onset of Spring. Over the last couple months I have basically ceased strength training other than some core work with the medicine ball, limited playing "out" at ball hockey to a few games(mostly to gauge how the shoulder was recovering) and stopped all archery practice. I have, however, continued to play goal due to a desire to remain somewhat active but primarily due to a sense of commitment. http://rolfdevinci.blogspot.ca/2012/12/shoulder-to-grindstone.html I have been seeing my chiropractor weekly for the last six weeks and improvement has occurred but I feel like any gains are reversed after continuing to play goal twice weekly. Not only is it counter productive but it is burning up my chiropratic health plan coverage at an alarming rate. It all came to a head this week when I played out T...

I have been having issues with my left shoulder and neck. It began back in late Summer and has gotten progressively worse over the course of the Fall. What began as (probably) simple overuse has now gotten to the point of chronic discomfort and pain with an associated lack of mobility. I have managed to control the problem for the most part but it had become obvious yesterday that twice monthly chiropractic treatments, ice packs and topical gels can only offer temporary relief unless I address the underlying issue - overuse. I was sore after playing hockey Sunday afternoon and probably should not have even played last night. It was a frustrating evening in the ECBHL with me leaving before the game's end. I have been doing renovations on my mother's house which has included a variety of stoop labors, including landscaping, painting and stripping hardwood floors of carpet glue. Add to that my participation in ball hockey four times weekly, including twice on S...

Although it felt like a brick wall it was, in fact, a defenseman for the Spartan`s at the ECBHL last night. We both were chasing the loose ball along the boards - I as the forward attempting to gain the offensive zone while he was trying to clear the ball down the floor. CRASH! As we were both angling in on the ball at full speed my right shoulder impacted his left shoulder! We both took a couple steps back from the force of the collision but got right back into action. Isn`t exercise  induced endorphins a wonderful thing! Overheard someone on the sideline remark...."what a body check". Made me chuckle as I exchanged concerns with the other fella making sure all was OK as this is a non contact league.When the compete level is high there is always some kind of unintentional contact even in fun competitive sport. Gotta tell you I am feeling it today. Yes I was doing stoop labor scraping hardwood floors of carpet glue on Saturday and I did play go...

Been a rough week of ball hockey. Guess it is a good thing I love the game. A slapshot off the lower right quad a week ago today...... Fore arm slammed into the wall while fighting for the ball on the forecheck Sunday night...... Two beauties today......slapshot off the left shoulder and one off the left quad while defending in the slot. Once this bruises up I will have matching quad tattoos on both legs.Platelets must be low this week as the bruising seems deeper than usual. Definitely feeling the burn tonight...pass the wine please.

 Took a slapshot to the face tonight at ball hockey. Playing defense a rising slapshot just missed the opposing forward coming out of the zone and stuck me square on the left eye. I didn't even see it coming but it set me down on my backside pretty efficiently. I was wearing glasses tonight so the impact was deflected by the lense but the frame ended up cutting me across the bridge of my nose and down the right side.The eye itself feels OK and my vision seems normal.  Got one sore face tonight to match my still tender backside from Sunday's slapshot off my hip.A deep bruise it almost feels like a mini hematoma and is a lovely shade of Barney The Dinosaur purple. Been a tough week! Definitely have gotten my full measure of suffering! The things I endure for the love of the game.  I expect to have a beautiful shiner come the morning but the ice cold can of Coors Light applied directly to my cheek after the injury has done wonders keeping the swelling i...