From my 2019-2020 skirmish with strep and subsequent myocarditis, acute kidney failure, and cytokine storm, I have some remaining lung issues. My most recent CT scan (April 2023) reads:
Stable right basilar atelectasis or scarring with small loculated right pleural effusion. Mild dependent atelectasis in the left lower lobe.
This finding has been “stable” since early 2020.
And I was diagnosed in 2020 with COPD although this barely meets a threshold of concern. Among the 14 doctors attending me then, only an internal medicine specialist noted it and the pulmonologists have never mentioned it. Personal friends who are doctors downplay its significance.
Until about a year ago, I experienced a sharp, but not intense, pain when I suddenly inhaled to sneeze or cough. Note that I could never reproduce this pain deliberately. It required the automated reflex of these behaviors.
I do not experience this pain anymore. What changed to improve this?… Nothing to which my doctors can attest.
I suspect the improvement is related to the shoulder traction that I briefly described in my Substack article in March 2023 and thoroughly detailed in my book, Shoulder Rehab. This book is available here: "Shoulder Rehab"
As I and others have suggested, the shoulder traction seems efficacious for the shoulders as well as for the back. I have added that it works well for some neck issues. And as I hang, I can feel its kind effects in many areas: arm muscles, abdominal muscles, chest muscles.
Is it possible that the shoulder traction also includes some beneficial stretching of the structures affecting the lungs? Regarding the lungs, I find this traction reminiscent of the hands-overhead position observed in the now-antiquated Sylvester method of artificial respiration.
I do not possess the skills to assess this idea.
Perhaps you know people that might find this worth trying. It’s simple, inexpensive, can be made convenient, and is safe when applied as I have explained elsewhere.
Mr Hutchins, thank you for sharing your personal journey here. I too am dealing with pulmonary issues in the past 7 years. I must say super slow and TSC have been a real gift in terms of maintaining my functional ability and preserving LBM. I also do the hang on my chin up bar several times a day.
What other activities have you tried to improve your pulmonary status? And are there any you would recommend? COPD is a silent killer and many who are afflicted simply aren't aware. I was not aware I have bronchiectasis until I had a severe pneumonia in 2015. Sir, God bless and be well!
RY