Stupid Muscles

Posted by Suman on May 27, 2021

My very last

"physiotherapy" session was sometime back in 2018.

It was with an esteemed physiotherapy clinic in the downtown area.

The "lead physiotherapist" who I was scheduled to see,

not only happened to be the owner of the clinic,

and leading a handful "physiotherapy projects" across country,

but also a regular consultant for many other professional athletes.


Needless to say

he was an expert in his field.

Because those around him thought so.

And more than anything,

because he himself thought so.


Do not get me wrong.

He was a seemingly kind, gentle, and happy-go-lucky human.

No arrogance, no overflowing "I am expert" vibe. None hiding in his words either.

I am certain he still is that way.


The point of this post,

is not to insult him or challenge what he knows.

The point of this post,

like all other content on this website,

is to guide the sincere to The Truth.


My last session, like most of my sessions

began with deep conversations around the anatomy of the human body

and the various muscles and interconnectedness,

especially the ones that he thought were related to the

many issues I was having at the time.


During these conversations,

I would lose myself absorbing everything that he spoke.

Like a sponge, I would take in everything.

At the time, with the sincere hope that all of his "knowledge"

will allow me to connect the dots about my chronic pains,

and my deep desire to move with full freedom.


Towards the end,

he would administer IMS (Intramuscular stimulation),

which for the uninitiated, is sticking in needles into a muscle/muscle-group

and passing a mild current through them.


He would still make "small talk" during

to distract me from the pain/discomfort,

which by then I was fully acclimatized to.


On that day, I put forward a question as he was sticking needles in my sternocleidomastoid -

"Why do my erector spinae always get tight?"

He laughed and said - "Because they are stupid."

I forced a chuckle out and persisted - "What do you mean?"

He repeated, this time demonstrating the shape of the muscles with his fingers,

- "They are stupid muscles. They do nothing."


On the surface, I responded with an innocent "Hah",

still pondering as to why the most prominent muscles of the back

would be serving no need.

Deep down I acknowledged something else.

That this will be my last conversation with him.

With any physiotherapist for that matter.


Today,

I will relay the following message to him

and anyone else who still thinks that the erector spinae serve no usefulness.


Have you looked at Bruce Lee's back?

Or of Lu Xiaojun's?

Or any other legends?

If you have not, please do.

And tell me out of their entire back musculature, what stands out the most.

And then

look me in the face and say - "They are stupid muscles. And serve no purpose."


The world consists of three types of people.

In decreasing order of their abundance, they are ...

1. Those who do not know or care to.

2. Those who think they know.

3. Those who know.


Physiotherapists, coaches, scientists, and any and all ists

are the second category of people.

Anything that they do not know, that they will never come close to understanding,

is stupid or random.

The reality is, real knowledge - The Truth

hides deep in that "stupid" or "random".


Thank you.