CHA-LEE's Tale

[CHA-LEE]

This past weekend I re injured my neck some how. I ruptured the same disk as last time, but this time it is blowing out the opposite side. There is mega neck pain along with pain, weakness, and numbness in my left arm. I went to the doctor and they basically said that all I can do is grind through the pain and let it heal on its own. If this goes like the last time I will be out of commission for at least a month. This is a super bummer with several large matches and the nationals coming up but there isn't much I can do about it. All I can do is take it easy, rest up and let the healing process do its thing. Hopefully I can get back to normal sooner than later. We will see how it goes.

[PatJones]

Was your neck bothering you on Sunday?

[CHA-LEE]

Yes, it was bothering me on both Saturday and Sunday a little bit. Then on Monday the disk finally gave up the ghost and I was in mega pain from that point out. Today is the first day I have been able to not take the heavy duty pain pills to get through the sever pain. There is still pain, weakness and numbness in my left arm but not as much as before. Hopefully this is a good sign that its not going to take forever for this to heal up. I think I was at least two weeks in the last time before I could get away with not needing heavy duty pain meds to deal with the pain.

[Vanniek71]

I just went through 6 months of it with a muscle in my butt, hurt so bad it would make my leg and back hurt too. Hopefully you heal quick that is no fun

[Husker95]

Get better soon Boss. 1st and 3rd Monday's, and 3rd Saturdays, wont be the same until your back in the game.....

[thermobollocks]

Every weekend in the month won't be the same. Tell your neck if it doesn't shape up you'll kick its ass

[frunkenstein]

We will try to carry your load this weekend, even though it will be tough for you get healthy.

[BritinUSA]

Were you dry firing a lot ? I seem to recall that this was the cause last time.

[CHA-LEE]

Were you dry firing a lot ? I seem to recall that this was the cause last time.

Not really. I can't really think of a specific physical activity or trauma that could have triggered it. I simply woke up one morning and my neck was hurting, not bad but it hurt. Then a couple days later BOOM crippling neck pain. My doctor said that it isn't uncommon for a disk that let go in the past to let go again in the future. So I guess that is what is happening now.

[CHA-LEE]

Well I am a week into this neck issue and am making some progress. The mega neck and arm pain has been over with for a couple of days now so I am off the heavy duty pain killers. I still have some dull pain in my neck but its really not bad. I can also move my neck around quite a bit without increasing the pain level but I have not pushed the limits on how far I can move or not for obvious reasons.

Right now the primary issue is with my left arm weakness and numbness. I have significant strength loss in that arm and the only way I was able to quantify it is by using my grip dyno to test my grip strength. The good thing is that I had a solid "Before" data point to leverage as I did a grip strength test during the class I presented the Sunday before this neck issue hit with full force. During this class I demonstrated the proper grip strength test by using your normal gun grip wrist angles and number of fingers while squeezing the grip dyno with one hand. For the support hand I point my arm straight forward in a normal gripping the gun position then cant my wrist forward like it would be during my normal thumbs forward grip. Then I squeeze the grip dyno and get a reading. On Sunday, before the neck injury hit full force, my grip strength in my weak hand during this test was 170lbs. When I retested my grip strength using this same process this past Saturday (8-16-2014) my grip strength was only at 70lbs. So I am only at 40% of the grip strength that I had right before this injury. Its not only grip strength that is affected either as simply moving my arm around takes a lot more effort and is less precise in movements than before. Even though I don't have before measurements of how much weight I could move around with my whole arm, I think that using the grip dyno as my gauge of arm strength recovery will be sufficient. It at least gives me something to go by to see how the recovery is going. I have set an initial goal of regaining at least 100lbs of grip strength before I try to start shooting again. Anything below that will be a waste of time and there would be more risk of reinjury than anything else.

The numbness in my left arm is also a good gauge of how terrorized the nerves to my arm are at any given moment. Increased neck pain also increases the numbness. Right now I have a little bit of numbness in my triceps, a decent amount of numbness on the top of my forearm, and a complete tingly numbness in my thumb. When the numbness reduces a significant amount that should also mean that the weakness should be reduced as well. My plan is to wait until I notice a significant reduction in numbness then redo the grip test to see how the arm strength recovery is coming along.

I know I am in for at least 3 - 4 more weeks of healing time before I am back to "normal". All I can do is take anti inflammatory medication, ice my neck, take it easy and simply wait for it to heal. I hope that I can get back to "normal" without needing to go under the knife. But I do realize that I am running on borrowed time with this disk that has ruptured twice now. My doctor said that even if it heals and you are back to normal again, if it happens again I will need to look long and hard at either a disk replacement surgery or a disk fusion surgery. I am not looking forward to making that decision when the time comes, but I fear that decision will need to be made sooner than later. It sucks that our bodies wear out. Why can't we have 20 year old bodies that are invincible forever???

[frunkenstein]

Amen to that says a man with 2 new hips should have knee work. Take your time cuz the main electrical supply goes through that small part of the body.

Edited August 18, 2014 by frunkenstein

[CHA-LEE]

The ruptured disk healing process continues. So far this week the dull pain in my neck has be getting less and less. This morning when I woke up I had new soreness in my neck and left arm. Initially I was bummed but then I noticed that I had a little more mobility and strength in my left arm along with a little less numbness in my thumb. I think that the nerves that the rupture was pushing on are healing and able to command the muscles again, but since these muscles have been doing nothing for a week and a half they are protesting with soreness when used. This is a very nice step forward in the direction of recovery. The overall strength in my left arm is still reduced significantly but I can at least move it around with more dexterity now.

My grip strength has improved to 85lbs so that is good but still not the 100lbs of grip force I was looking for before returning to the range. I highly doubt that I will gain an additional 15lbs of grip force between now and Saturday morning, so I don’t think I will be shooting any matches this coming weekend. This is probably best anyway because I would rather not push it too early and make the disk worse. It just sucks to be away from shooting for so long.

Next weekend I am scheduled to attend the Utah State match in Salt Lake City so I hope by then I have made some significant strides forward in healing, strength, and dexterity. If not, I may have to cancel the trip.

[bayougump]

I've had 3 operations on my lower back from ruptures with the last one being on the operating table for 10 hours fusing L4, L5, and S1 together with 6 screws, 2 rods, and a cage. It sucks and I try hard to not let it impair my shooting but happens regardless. Hope you get healed and better soon

[CHA-LEE]

The healing process continues at a slow pace. Since I couldn’t shoot I took the opportunity to get a bunch of work done around the house. It was actually nice to force myself to do some “normal” activities with my left arm. I got a bunch of chores done which was a good thing and didn’t hurt myself in the process, which is a really good thing.

Right now it seems like every other day I wake up with a little less numbness in my arm/thumb and an increased soreness in my arm from muscles getting turned back on. So the healing process is doing its thing but it’s taking its sweet time in getting me back to normal. Currently my left arm is at about 60% strength and I have gotten a good amount of dexterity back. My left hand grip strength is at 100lbs so that is good. But I also noticed that the forearm muscles under the numbness patch on the top of my forearm are still on vacation. If I grip hard, those muscles are barely flexing at all so I know that them being inactive is the primary reason for the grip strength loss. All I can do is wait and let it heal on its own and hope that they come back into action. The numbness in my arm and thumb are slowly reducing and it seems like there is a close relation to numbness verses muscle functionality, so I basically have to wait for the numbness to go away before I can expect my arm muscles to get back to working properly.

Given my currently recovery status and pace I am going to plan on attending the UT State match. I know I won’t be at 100% by then, but I should at least be able to shoot. I am going to get out to the range on Wed or Thur this week to do some shooting so I can see how it goes at 60% strength in the left arm. My hope is that by the end of this week I will be at 70% strength for the UT State match. We will see how it goes.

[pkm]

At 70% you are still stronger than most of us .. Good luck in Salt Lake.

[DonovanM]

Sorry to hear about the ortho problems man, but it's good you're getting back up to speed right before Nats. Enjoyed reading about your transition between guns!

[JaeOne3345]

Charlie, what brand springs are you using? I am assuming Wolff?

[CHA-LEE]

Charlie, what brand springs are you using? I am assuming Wolff?

I am using Wolff springs

[BeerBaron]

Hi Cha-lee, I was wondering... I know you've been looking at switching to the 2011 to go to a more widely supported platform (which makes sense given you basically have to do all your EAA stuff yourself and parts availability is basically non-existant in an aftermarket sense), BUT, did you consider the CZ limited gun (Tactical Sport). They've been gaining popularity here and whilst there nothing like the level of customisation available that there is for a 2011 there certainly is better support from the aftermarket than there is for a EAA. CZC, CGW etc all make good stuff for the TS and even the CZ factory produce some IPSC friendly parts.

I just thought of it as it still uses a pivoting trigger like you're used to (and it's a very nice trigger on the TS), has the nice frame in slide construction like you're used to and similar grip etc.

I can certainly see the reasoning for going with the 2011, but I guess I just wondered if the CZ was ever a consideration.

[CHA-LEE]

Hi Cha-lee, I was wondering... I know you've been looking at switching to the 2011 to go to a more widely supported platform (which makes sense given you basically have to do all your EAA stuff yourself and parts availability is basically non-existant in an aftermarket sense), BUT, did you consider the CZ limited gun (Tactical Sport). They've been gaining popularity here and whilst there nothing like the level of customisation available that there is for a 2011 there certainly is better support from the aftermarket than there is for a EAA. CZC, CGW etc all make good stuff for the TS and even the CZ factory produce some IPSC friendly parts.

I just thought of it as it still uses a pivoting trigger like you're used to (and it's a very nice trigger on the TS), has the nice frame in slide construction like you're used to and similar grip etc.

I can certainly see the reasoning for going with the 2011, but I guess I just wondered if the CZ was ever a consideration.

I certainly did consider switching to the CZ Tactical Sport because its the same basic design and function as the EAA/Tanfo pistols. I borrowed one from a friend and tested it out at the range. The CZ Tactical Sport did shoot really good and would serve as a viable replacement option to the EAA/Tanfo guns. The issue I ran into was the cost. By the time you purchase a basic CZ Tactical Sport then upgrade it to make it Limited Division ready along with all of the magazines the total $$$ invested was about the same as a 2011. If I was going to spend 2011 money on a new Limited platform, then I will just get a 2011 and be done with it. If building up a CZ platform was significantly cheaper than a 2011, then I would have probably gone with it. But that wasn't the case so I went with the 2011 platform instead.

[CHA-LEE]

I am still in the process of healing. The strength and dexterity in my left arm is getting a little better each day. My grip strength is still hovering around the 100lb range, with some days better than others. The numbness is continuing to recede slowly so I am still going in the right direction. Last night I did a little bit of dry fire to gauge my ability to mount the gun properly and perform reloads. I was happy with being able to present the gun in front of my face with the sights already aligned. I still had to consciously grip the crap out of the gun with my left hand. Performing aggressive reloads was also working properly so that was good. I didn’t do a lot of dry fire as I didn’t want to over do it and reinjure myself. The thing that worried me is that after that little bit of dry fire the muscles in my left forearm were wiped out. They are not use to being taxed like that since I have been taking it easy these past three weeks.

Today I am going to head out to the range after work and do some live fire testing. I want to see how my substandard left arm holds up to actual shooting and managing recoil. I am not planning on doing a lot of shooting, just enough to see how its going to work out for the Utah State match. I also want to do a little shooting to get back into the groove before attending the UT State match.

Hopefully all goes well today at the range. Then I will have another two days of healing before the start of the UT State match. I hope that by the time the UT state match starts I will have even more grip strength back so it will be less of a chore while shooting the match.

[BeerBaron]

Hi Cha-lee, I was wondering... I know you've been looking at switching to the 2011 to go to a more widely supported platform (which makes sense given you basically have to do all your EAA stuff yourself and parts availability is basically non-existant in an aftermarket sense), BUT, did you consider the CZ limited gun (Tactical Sport). They've been gaining popularity here and whilst there nothing like the level of customisation available that there is for a 2011 there certainly is better support from the aftermarket than there is for a EAA. CZC, CGW etc all make good stuff for the TS and even the CZ factory produce some IPSC friendly parts.

I just thought of it as it still uses a pivoting trigger like you're used to (and it's a very nice trigger on the TS), has the nice frame in slide construction like you're used to and similar grip etc.

I can certainly see the reasoning for going with the 2011, but I guess I just wondered if the CZ was ever a consideration.

I certainly did consider switching to the CZ Tactical Sport because its the same basic design and function as the EAA/Tanfo pistols. I borrowed one from a friend and tested it out at the range. The CZ Tactical Sport did shoot really good and would serve as a viable replacement option to the EAA/Tanfo guns. The issue I ran into was the cost. By the time you purchase a basic CZ Tactical Sport then upgrade it to make it Limited Division ready along with all of the magazines the total $$$ invested was about the same as a 2011. If I was going to spend 2011 money on a new Limited platform, then I will just get a 2011 and be done with it. If building up a CZ platform was significantly cheaper than a 2011, then I would have probably gone with it. But that wasn't the case so I went with the 2011 platform instead.

Thanks Charlie. That makes a lot of sense. I would ask though if after your experience with tuning and customising your 2011 if you still think that's the case? there's no doubt the 2011 can be made to fit an individual need better than the CZ platforms (mainly due to it's modular nature) but from reading the thread your development path has taken you to a PT grip to improve balance and mag trapping (they are $600?), tungsten guide rod is not cheap, couple of different grip safeties etc. That quickly ratchets up the cost. It seems to be like a custom gunsmith built S_I based 2011 is generally in the 2500-4000 range depending on options. Plus some tuning along the way.

There's one thing that money cannot buy though and that's the massive aftermarket support for 2011's, and I am starting to think that is pretty important for a competition platform.

I think you've probably made the right choice. And having the ability to tune the gun with the help of a top smith is pretty handy too. At the end of the day it seems pretty reasonable to expect the blaster you end up with based on a 2011 will be a 'better' gun in some ways than the TS could be. I'm just interested in exploring the pros and cons of the CZ a little.

Glad you hear your healing is progressing. best of luck for the live fire test and the match.

[thermobollocks]

Even with my lowly 20,000/year round count, I'm spending more per year on ammo than my 3 Production guns put together, or one base STI off the classifieds. The startup costs, especially in Lim/Open, can be daunting, but looking at this game long-term, it's not going to be the guns.

[BeerBaron]

Even with my lowly 20,000/year round count, I'm spending more per year on ammo than my 3 Production guns put together, or one base STI off the classifieds. The startup costs, especially in Lim/Open, can be daunting, but looking at this game long-term, it's not going to be the guns.

for sure. gun purchase cost in the end plays only a small part. we spend way more on ammo, other gear (timer, rig, clothes, shoes, bag, tools) and lots on tuning stuff too if talking limited or open guns.

[Vanniek71]

Even with my lowly 20,000/year round count, I'm spending more per year on ammo than my 3 Production guns put together, or one base STI off the classifieds. The startup costs, especially in Lim/Open, can be daunting, but looking at this game long-term, it's not going to be the guns.

for sure. gun purchase cost in the end plays only a small part. we spend way more on ammo, other gear (timer, rig, clothes, shoes, bag, tools) and lots on tuning stuff too if talking limited or open guns.

Thats all the fun though, tuning stuff and figuring out just whats right for you. I love dialing stuff in and then you get that "aha" moment where you know you got it just right.