The lightning bolt of pain shooting across her shoulder meant trouble. Not only could a serious injury sideline Delaine Ross from her exercise regimen, but it could be bad for business. Ross owns Condition Kettlebell Gym in Atlanta.
While performing an exercise using a 70 pound kettlebell, an old-school piece of equipment resembling a cannonball with a handle, Ross made a wrong move. For the next eight months, she couldn’t lift more than 35 pounds above her head.
By chance Dr. Ingrid Anderson, owner of Intown Physical Therapy, reached out to Ross through the gym website. Ross invited Dr. Anderson to a networking event, and afterward the pair chatted over coffee.
Ross told Dr. Anderson all about her gym and her passion for kettlebells. Years earlier while training for professional fitness competitions, Ross discovered the art of kettlebells. This form of exercise dates back to the 1600s and was developed by the Russian special forces. After reducing her workout to 45 minutes per day, three days a week and snagging better results, Ross was hooked.
She became a certified trainer in 2006 and opened Condition Kettlebell Gym in Atlanta in 2007. Ross and her team of instructors work with students on the gym’s padded floor. They swing kettlebells, press them overhead and perform other time-tested exercises.
During the conversation, Ross realized she and Dr. Anderson shared similar philosophies, including the idea that surgery should be a last resort.
“I noticed that she was someone who sincerely wants to help people and just doesn’t want to make money,” Ross said.
So Ross decided it was time to take care of her shoulder injury. After Dr. Anderson examined Ross, she determined Ross was a candidate for trigger point dry needling. The process includes a fine acupuncture needle being inserted into various trigger points around the affected area. It elicits a twitch response and causes the muscles to contract.
Ross says Dr. Anderson described like this: When you have an injury, your body does everything it can to protect itself. You then make compensatory movement in order to protect the injured part. Sometimes the injury might heal, but all of the muscles around it aren’t doing what they’re normally supposed to do. So when the needle goes in, it releases all of those muscles.
“You can feel [the muscles] around the trigger point release,” Ross described. “Then it’s tingly and stays sore for about 24 hours.”
After three sessions and performing some recommended exercises at home, Ross says the pain was gone. She soon jumped right back into her exercise routine and worked on gaining her strength back.
Today when injured athletes walk into Condition Kettlebell Gym, Ross knows where to send them.
“Runners and other endurance athletes often come in complaining of injuries,” Ross said, “and I send them to Ingrid first.”
