Sorry for the long posts, but I have additional questions to ask. I'm currently considering to do either ART massage or PRP (platelet rich plasma) therapy for my 2 injuries. However, I heard from some of my friends that ART did not help them with their injuries. And PRP therapy is extremely expensive. I'm quite wary of trying all these treatments now, as I have spent quite a fair bit on the 3 corticosteroid injections which did not help me in the end.
I have also come across the Bill Starr rehab protocol from this forum, but before I start doing it, I would like to ask:
1) My rhomboid and groin injuries are not new injuries (injured for 8 months and 6 months respectively). Does the Starr rehab still work for injuries that have lasted for several months? Any scar tissue would have already formed during this time.
2) My groin injury is very near to the adductor tendon, can I still use the Starr rehab for this injury? Since it is not supposed to be used for tendon injuries right?
3) For the rehab protocol, how much weight should I start with, and how much weight should I increase every day? Is there a percentage that I can use? My squat 5RM is 165kg (364 lbs) and my deadlift 3RM is 195kg (430 lbs). If I start with the empty bar and increase by only 10 lbs everyday, it will take several months before getting back to the original weights I have been lifting.
4) Am I supposed to feel pain while doing this rehab protocol? I find that I only start feeling my groin pain when I squat about 80kg and above, and I only start feeling my rhomboid pain when I deadlift about 100kg and above. Does that mean I have to start with a heavier weight instead of using the empty bar?
5) Coach Rip mentioned that "no other heavy work should be done". Does this apply only to the exercise that was chosen for the rehab protocol, or does it apply to all exercises? For example, for someone who is using the squat as the exercise for the rehab protocol, can he still train the deadlift and upper body work as per normal? Or does he have to do a deload for every exercise? I really don't want to suffer any more strength loss in my lifts, since my squat and deadlift has suffered so much from my injuries.
6) Can I use this rehab protocol for both my rhomboid and my groin injury at the same time? Or should I focus on rehabbing them one at a time?
7) Can I do this rehab protocol together with ART and PRP therapy (if I choose to do them)?
8) Is it mandatory to apply ice during this protocol? There is increasing research which shows that ice is not only ineffective in injury treatment, it also inhibits the healing process by interfering with the natural inflammatory response that the body creates in order to heal soft tissue injuries (10 Reasons ? Icing Injuries is Wrong | Stone Athletic Medicine).
Thanks so much for any help and once again sorry for the long posts!!