Vanda Boxing & O.P.R.C

So the weekend was a very veryyyyyyyyyyy WET one!! How can there be soooo much RAIN!?!? Everytime it looked like it was gonna stop raining.....it would just piss down even harder!!! As my buddy Darren would describe the weather in London,"Battle ship grey!!"...Just dark glooomy miserable weather!!...Bleeeegghhhh

After my fight in K.L one friends,Ian Mullane who has also been doing alot of boxing with me to sharpen up my hands over at his gym in Turf City, Vanda Boxing Club. Ian is the man who brought the Charity event,"White Collar Boxing" to Singapore. I've had many clients attend these SOLD OUT events and it has generated a lot of hype in the scene to either ATTEND...or to PARTICIPATE in these events!!

I honestly love the concept for it as it's for a good cause. Most of the money generated at these events goes to Charity!! Secondly it gives guys who work as Brokers,Bankers and Advertisers a chance to step into the ring with someone of EQUAL conditions. Both guys having to work 9-5 jobs....both having their first ever fight... both probably never even done boxing until they signed the dotted line of intensive training for 12 weeks before the big Fight Night. Stepping in the ring with just 12 weeks of Intensive training takes a toll on the body. Preparation takes hours in the gym,hours on the road doing the distance running and hours of grueling sessions with your trainers on the bag and pads.

And with intensive training comes a whole list of injuries. Something aches...something is sore....something it tight...something doesn't feel right. But we don't wanna wuss out,so we keep pushing ourselves. Sometimes its ok to do that.....but sometimes it makes the injury worse!!!

So after my recent injuries, Ian recommended me to go see his Osteopath.,Jose De La Cruz over at O.P.R.C (Osteopathic Pain Relief Centre). Initially I wasn't sure what to expect,as I've already been seeing Physio therapists for my shoulders and also going to Mitch at Skyfitness for alot of therapy and strength work on my shoulders and other muscles groups.... But I thought to myself..."What the heck,no harm in trying something new out?!?" And I'm very glad that I did book myself in!!!

What Jose does is very unique in Singapore. And it was kinda new to me too...but having trained with Mitch and doing alot of "Myofascial Release" I sorta was on the same page with Jose. Think of lets say your back and when you are getting a massage and there are some spots that are very sore and they feel like they've got "knots"......these are known also as "trigger points". They can be formed by old injuries, stress, inflammation, trauma, and poor posture. So to release these "trigger points" what Mitch teaches at Sky is to use Golf Balls,Tennis Balls,Rollers and Deep trigger point massage to sort of ease the tightness and to hopefully break it up so that your body functions better.

However over at OPRC , Jose does something called Dry Needling....Basically he uses needles to break down these trigger points to reduce the pain of an area. Right.....at this point I reckon many of you are probably going..."WHAT?!!?!" or pulling some silly face. The needles used are Acupuncture needles and they are so fine you barely feel it!! The reason and philosophy behind Dry Needling has no similarity as Acupuncture used in Chinese Medicine though.

It's pretty amazing as I've gone in there with tight hamstrings, bad back, difficulty with my range of motion due to my shoulder injuries/surgeries. And because of all these injuries it has been hindering alot of my training with Mitch to do certain strength & conditioning exercises and also my general fitness workouts.

Unlike alot of massage or alot of therapy that I've been to. I feel that there is nothing faster and more effective than this. I mean I went in with really bad range of motion on my arm, could barely reach over my head without compensating and forcing my head forward,and after just some needles here and there...in about 30mins I almost had full range of motion!! Another incident was my back was killing the other day from an old injury and I could barely twist around....same thing went in there and,Jose stuck a needle here and there....and done...walked out feeling almost like nothing happened.

What I do find very professional about OPRC which adds abit more of a PERSONAL side to it,is that Jose actually made the effort to see me train with Mitch and to discuss about what should be done to help me get better....what muscle groups I should be working on. Jose gave me simple but very specific stretches,workouts that I need to do for my shoulders. He also went to see another of his patient and to find out why her back and shoulders were always acting up....and it was due to her posture sitting at the office...and having the laptop and all the wrong height. To me that shows a great deal of commitment to his job and that he sincerely wants to see a patient get better.

OPRC is not just a clinic for sports injuries...it is a clinic for general wellness!! The see patients for everything from...back aches,neck aches,frozen shoulders,knee injuries,stress,muscle tension,headaches and asthma even!?! ...Sheesh now they just need to find a cure for cancer!!!!! haha

Im very glad that I've been introduced to OPRC as it has definitely helped me understand alot more about my body and they have helped with reducing my injuries and reduced my recovery time for certain injuries. Hopefully with all the help Im getting from Mitch and Jose,my darn shoulders will stay in it's damn sockets for my next fight!!! Its constantly a worry and a bother for me...but Im sure if I put in the effort and with their professional help it'll be ok.

Alright LaterZ!!