Isometric activity
Imaginary Maps - Your source for fictional maps.
2012.12.08 06:17 WinterAnomaly Imaginary Maps - Your source for fictional maps.
Imaginary Maps! Share maps you have made of alternate history, fantasy, sci-fi or anything really! Join our Discord server here: https://discord.gg/U8BjcKugcf
2024.05.14 18:52 sretep66 Post Op Recovery - 8 weeks
Just looking to compare notes, or get some feedback.
I'm 8 weeks post op. I see my surgeon again at 12 weeks. I'm doing PT twice a week, and I do the same exercises at home daily.
I had a "massive" tear. One rotator cuff tendon torn completely, another partially torn, partially torn labrum, and my biceps was distended. The surgeon repaired the torn tendon and the labrum, and "cleaned up" the top of the biceps. He did not detach and reattach the biceps.
The injury was from an impact fall while skiing. Doctor said I had minimal arthritis or degenerative wear and tear for my age. 66.
The doctor's recovery protocol still has me doing mostly passive motion workouts, stretching with a stick, and stretching with a pulley and ropes that I hang over a door. No weights yet. They have me doing 2 lbs biceps and wrist curls, and several isometric exercises.
I'm concerned that I don't have full range of motion yet. I can't raise my arm over my head or very far behind my back. PT therapist said that this is normal for a complete tear. Doctor told me at my last appointment that he's concerned about retearing at my age, which is why he hasn't prescribed active stretching or light weights yet.
What do y'all think? Am I ok, or should I be concerned.
submitted by sretep66 to RotatorCuff [link] [comments]
I'm 8 weeks post op. I see my surgeon again at 12 weeks. I'm doing PT twice a week, and I do the same exercises at home daily.
I had a "massive" tear. One rotator cuff tendon torn completely, another partially torn, partially torn labrum, and my biceps was distended. The surgeon repaired the torn tendon and the labrum, and "cleaned up" the top of the biceps. He did not detach and reattach the biceps.
The injury was from an impact fall while skiing. Doctor said I had minimal arthritis or degenerative wear and tear for my age. 66.
The doctor's recovery protocol still has me doing mostly passive motion workouts, stretching with a stick, and stretching with a pulley and ropes that I hang over a door. No weights yet. They have me doing 2 lbs biceps and wrist curls, and several isometric exercises.
I'm concerned that I don't have full range of motion yet. I can't raise my arm over my head or very far behind my back. PT therapist said that this is normal for a complete tear. Doctor told me at my last appointment that he's concerned about retearing at my age, which is why he hasn't prescribed active stretching or light weights yet.
What do y'all think? Am I ok, or should I be concerned.
2024.05.14 18:52 sretep66 Post Op Recovery - 8 weeks
Just looking to compare notes, or get some feedback.
I'm 8 weeks post op. I see my surgeon again at 12 weeks. I'm doing PT twice a week, and I do the same exercises at home daily.
I had a "massive" tear. One rotator cuff tendon torn completely, another partially torn, partially torn labrum, and my biceps was distended. The surgeon repaired the torn tendon and the labrum, and "cleaned up" the top of the biceps. He did not detach and reattach the biceps.
The injury was from an impact fall while skiing. Doctor said I had minimal arthritis or degenerative wear and tear for my age. 66.
The doctor's recovery protocol still has me doing mostly passive motion workouts, stretching with a stick, and stretching with a pulley and ropes that I hang over a door. No weights yet. They have me doing 2 lbs biceps and wrist curls, and several isometric exercises.
I'm concerned that I don't have full range of motion yet. I can't raise my arm over my head or very far behind my back. PT therapist said that this is normal for a complete tear. Doctor told me at my last appointment that he's concerned about retearing at my age, which is why he hasn't prescribed active stretching or light weights yet.
What do y'all think? Am I ok, or should I be concerned.
submitted by sretep66 to RotatorCuff [link] [comments]
I'm 8 weeks post op. I see my surgeon again at 12 weeks. I'm doing PT twice a week, and I do the same exercises at home daily.
I had a "massive" tear. One rotator cuff tendon torn completely, another partially torn, partially torn labrum, and my biceps was distended. The surgeon repaired the torn tendon and the labrum, and "cleaned up" the top of the biceps. He did not detach and reattach the biceps.
The injury was from an impact fall while skiing. Doctor said I had minimal arthritis or degenerative wear and tear for my age. 66.
The doctor's recovery protocol still has me doing mostly passive motion workouts, stretching with a stick, and stretching with a pulley and ropes that I hang over a door. No weights yet. They have me doing 2 lbs biceps and wrist curls, and several isometric exercises.
I'm concerned that I don't have full range of motion yet. I can't raise my arm over my head or very far behind my back. PT therapist said that this is normal for a complete tear. Doctor told me at my last appointment that he's concerned about retearing at my age, which is why he hasn't prescribed active stretching or light weights yet.
What do y'all think? Am I ok, or should I be concerned.
2024.05.14 18:08 Mophandel Archaeotherium, the King of the White River Badlands
 | Art by Bob Nicholls submitted by Mophandel to badassanimals [link] [comments] Nowadays, when we envision the words “prey,” among modern mammalian fauna, few taxa come to mind as quickly as the hoofed mammals, better known as the ungulates. Indeed, for the better part of their entire evolutionary history, the ungulates have become entirely indistinguishable from the term “prey.” Across their two major modern branches, the artiodactyls (the “even-toed ungulates,” such as bovids, pigs, deer, hippos and giraffes) and the perissodactyls (the “odd-toed ungulates,” including horses, rhinos and tapir), the ungulates too have created an empire spanning nearly every continent, establishing themselves as the the dominant herbivores throughout their entire range. However, as a price for such success, their lot as herbivores have forced them into an unenviable position: being the food for the predators. Indeed, throughout the diets of most modern predators, ungulates make up the majority, if not the entirety, of their diet, becoming their counterparts in this evolutionary dance of theirs. They have become the lamb to their wolf, the zebra to their lion, the stag to their tiger. If there is a predator in need of lunch, chances are that there is an ungulate there to provide it. Of course, such a dynamic is not necessarily a recent innovation. For the last 15-20 million years, across much of the world, both new and old, the ungulates have served as prey for these predators through it all. Over the course of whole epochs, these two groups have played into these roles for millions of years, coevolving with each other in an eons-long game of cat-and-mouse. The shoes they fill are not new, but have existed for ages, and within their niches they have cultivated their roles to perfection. Indeed, with such a tenured history, it seems hardly surprising the ungulates are wholly inseparable from the terms “prey,” itself. However, while this is the case now, as it has been for the last 15-20 million years, go back far enough, and we see that this dynamic is not as set in stone as we would think. Indeed, back during the Eocene and Oligocene, during the very earliest days of age of mammals, things were very different for the ungulates. While today they are considered little more than food for modern predators, during these olden days, the ungulates weren’t quite so benign. In fact, far from being fodder for top predators, the ungulates had turned the tables, instead becoming top predators themselves. Indeed, though nearly unheard of today, throughout much of the Eocene and Oligocene, carnivorous ungulates thrived in abundance, developing specializations for catching large prey and establishing themselves as top predators that competed alongside the more traditional carnivores, and even dominating them in some instances. Given such success, it’s no wonder that multiple such clades had arisen during this time. Such predators included the arctocyonids, a lineage of (ironically) hoof-less ungulates with large jaws and sharp teeth for capturing large prey. There were also the mesonychians, a lineage of dog-like ungulates with massive skulls and jaws that allowed them to reign as the top predator across much of the Eocene. However, among these various lineages, one stands stands out among the rest, by far. Arising during the Eocene, this lineage, though superficially resembling modern pigs, hailed from one an ancient lineage of artiodactyls far removed from swine or most other ungulates in general, with few close relatives alive today. Through perhaps not the most predatory of the bunch, it was among the most formidable, as their superficially pig-like appearance came with giant predatory jaws and teeth unlike anything from the modern era. And of course, as if all of that wasn’t enough, this lineage also went on to earn arguably one of the most badass nicknames of any lineage of mammals, period. These predators, of course, were the entelodonts, a.k.a the “hell-pigs.” More so than any other predatory ungulate lineage, these formidable ungulates were the ones to turn the current paradigm upside down, becoming some of the largest and most dominant carnivores in their landscape, even with (and often in spite of) the presence of more traditional predators. Through impressive size, fearsome teeth and sheer tenacity, these animals became the top dogs of their time, ruling as behemoth-kings of their Paleogene kingdoms, domineering all comers, and throughout the ranks, one entelodont in particular demonstrated such dominance the best. Though not the largest or most powerful of their kind, it is one of the most iconic, being among the most well-known members of its lineage to date. Moreover, this enteledont also has some of the most complete life histories ever seen out of this clade, with its brutality and predatory prowess being displayed in the fossil record in a way seen in no other member of its kind. More than anything else, however, it was this predator that best turned the notion of “ungulates being prey” on its head, living in an environment that bore some of the largest carnivoran hypercarnivores to date and still reigning as the undisputed top predator of its domain. This fearsome beast was none other than Archaeotherium, icon of the entelodonts, terror of the Oligocene American west and undisputed king of the White River badlands. The rise of Archaeotherium (and of entelodonts in general) is closely tied to the ascendancy of carnivorous ungulates as a whole, one of the earliest evolutionary success stories of the entire Cenozoic. Having become their own derived clade since the late Cretaceous, the ungulates were remarkably successful during the early Paleogene, as they were among the first mammalian clades to reach large sizes during those early days after the non-avian dinosaurs had gone extinct. As such, it was with incredible swiftness that, as the Paleogene progressed, the ungulates swooped upon the various niches left empty by the K-Pg mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs. This of course included the herbivorous niches we would know them for today, but this also included other, much more carnivore roles. Indeed, early on during the Paleogene, it was the ungulates that first seized the roles of large mammalian predators, becoming some the earliest large mammalian carnivores to ever live, well before even the carnivorans. Such predators included the arctocyonids, a lineage of vaguely dog-like, hoof-less ungulates with robust jaws and sharpened teeth that acted as some of earliest large carnivores of the Paleocene, with genera such as Arctocyon mumak getting up to the size of big cats. Even more prolific were the mesonychids. More so than what pretty much any other lineage of predator, it was the mesonychids that would stand out as the earliest dominant predators of the early Cenozoic. Growing up to the size of bears and with enormous, bone-crushing jaws, the mesonychids were among the most powerful and successful predators on the market at that time, with a near-global range and being capable of subjugating just about any other predator in their environments. Indeed, they, along with other carnivorous ungulates (as well as ungulates in general), were experiencing a golden age during this time, easily being the most prolific predators of the age. Given such prevalence, it should be no surprise that there would be yet another lineage of predatory ungulates would throw their hat into the ring, and by early Eocene, that contender would none other than the entelodonts. The very first entelodonts had arisen from artiodactyl ancestors during the Eocene epoch, at a time when artiodactyls were far more diverse and bizarre than they are now. Through today known from their modern herbivorous representatives such as bovines, deer, and antelope, during the Paleocene and Eocene, the artiodacyls, as with most ungulates of that time, were stronger and far more predaceous, particularly when it came to one such clade of artiodactyls, the cetacodontamorphs. Only known today from hippos and another group of artiodactyls (one which will become relevant later), the cetacodantomorphs emerged out of Asia around 55 million years ago, at around the same time that artiodactyls themselves had made their debut. These animals included the first truly predatory artiodactyls, with many of them possessing large skulls with powerful jaws and sharp, predatory teeth. Among their ranks included animals as puny as Indohyus, a piscivorous artiodactyl the size of a cat, to as formidable as Andrewsarchus, a giant, bison-sized predator often touted as one of the largest predatory mammals to ever live. Given such a predatory disposition, it wouldn’t be long until this clade produced a lineage of truly diverse, truly successful predators, and by around 40 million years ago, that is exactly what they did, as it was at that time that the entelodonts themselves first emerged. From their Asian homeland, the entelodonts spread across the world, spreading through not only most of Eurasia but also colonizing North America as well, with genera such as Brachyhyops being found across both continents. Here, in this North American frontier, the entelodonts began to diversify further, turning into their most successful and formidable forms yet, and it was around the late Eocene and early Oligocene that Archaeotherium itself had entered the scene. Just from a passing glance at Archaeotherium, it is clear how exactly it (as well as the other entelodonts) earned the nickname of “hell-pigs.” It was a bruiser for starters; its body bore a robust, pig-like physique, with prominent neural spines and their associated musculature forming a hump around the shoulder region, similar to the hump of a bison. With such a bulky physique came with it impressive size; the average A. mortoni had a head-body length of roughly 1.6-2.0 m (5.3-6.6 ft), a shoulder height of 1.2 m (4 ft) and a body mass of around 180 kg (396 lb) in weight (Boardman & Secord, 2013; Joeckel, 1990). At such sizes, an adult Archaeotherium the size of a large male black bear. However, they had the potential to get even bigger. While most Archaeotherium specimens were around the size described above, a select few specimens, labeled under the synonymous genus “Megachoerus,” are found to be much larger, with skulls getting up to 66% longer than average A. mortoni specimens (Foss, 2001; Joeckel, 1990). At such sizes and using isometric scaling, such massive Archaeotherium specimens would attained body lengths over 2.5 m (8.2 ft) and would have reached weighs well over 500 kg (1100 lb), or as big as a mature male polar bear. Indeed, at such sizes, it is already abundantly evident that Archaeotherium is a force to be recorded with. However, there was more to these formidable animals than sheer size alone. Behind all that bulk was an astoundingly swift and graceful predator, especially in terms of locomotion. Indeed, the hoofed feet of Archaeotherium, along with other entelodonts, sported several adaptations that gave it incredible locomotive efficiency, essentially turning it into a speed demon of the badlands. Such adaptations include longer distal leg elements (e.g. the radius and tibia) than their proximal counterparts (e.g. the humerus and femur), fusion of the radius and ulna for increased running efficiency, the loss of the clavicle (collar-bone) to allow for greater leg length, the loss of the acromion to enhance leg movement along the fore-and-aft plane, the loss of digits to reduce the mass of the forelimb, the fusion of the ectocuneiform and the mesocuneiform wrist-bones, among many other such traits (Theodore, 1996) . Perhaps most significant of these adaptations is the evolution of the “double-pulley astragalus (ankle-bone),” a specialized modification of the ankle that, while restricting rotation and side-to-side movement at the ankle-joint, allows for greater rotation in the fore-and-aft direction, thus allowing for more more powerful propulsion from the limbs, faster extension and retraction of the limbs and overall greater locomotive efficiency (Foss, 2001). Of course, such a trait was not only found in entelodonts but in artiodactyls as a whole, likely being a response to predatory pressures from incumbent predatory clades arising at the same time as the artiodactyls (Foss, 2001). However, in the case of the entelodonts, such adaptations were not used for merely escaping predators. Rather, they were used to for another, much more lethal effect… Such notions are further reinforced by the entelodonts most formidable aspect, none either than their fearsome jaws, and in this respect, Archaeotherium excelled. Both for its size and in general, the head of Archaeotherium was massive, measuring 40-50 cm (1.3-1.6 ft) in length among average A. mortoni specimens, to up to 78 cm (~2.6 ft) in the larger “Megachoerus” specimens (Joeckel, 1990). Such massive skulls were supported and supplemented by equally massive neck muscles and ligaments, which attached to massive neural spines on the anterior thoracic vertebrae akin to a bisons hump as well as to the sternum, allowing Archaeotherium to keep its head aloft despite the skulls massive size (Effinger, 1998). Of course, with such a massive skull, it should come as no surprise that such skulls housed exceptionally formidable jaws as well, and indeed, the bite of Archaeotherium was an especially deadly one. Its zygomatic arches (cheek-bones) and its temporal fossa were enlarged and expanded, indicative of massive temporalis muscles that afforded Archaeotherium astoundingly powerful bites (Joeckel, 1990). This is further augmented by Archaeotherium’s massive jugal flanges (bony projections of the cheek), which supported powerful masseter muscles which enhanced chewing and mastication, as well as an enlarged postorbital bar that reinforced the skull against torsional stresses (Foss, 2001). Last but not least, powerful jaws are supplemented by an enlarged gape, facilitated by a low coronoid process and enlarged posterior mandibular tubercles (bony projections originating from the lower jaw), which provided an insertion site for sternum-to-mandible jaw abduction muscles, allowing for a more forceful opening of the jaw (Foss, 2001). All together, such traits suggest a massive and incredibly fearsome bite, perhaps the most formidable of any animal in its environment. Of course, none of such traits are especially indicative of a predatory lifestyle. Indeed, many modern non-predatory ungulates, like hippos, pigs and peccaries, also possess large, formidable skulls and jaws. However, in peeling back the layers, it is found there was more to the skull of Archaeotherium that lies in store. Indeed, when inspecting the animal closely, a unique mosaic of features is revealed; traits that make it out to be much more lethal than the average artiodactyl. On one hand, Archaeotherium possessed many traits similar to those of herbivores animals, as is expected of ungulates. For instance, its jaw musculature that allowed the lower jaw of Archaeotherium a full side-to-side chewing motion as in herbivores (whereas most carnivores can only move their lower jaw up and down)(Effinger, 1998). On the other hand, Archaeotherium wielded many other traits far more lethal in their morphology, less akin to a herbivore and far more akin to a bonafide predator. For instance, the aforementioned enlarged gape of Archaeotherium is a bizarre trait on a supposed herbivore, as such animals do not need large gapes to eat vegetation and thus have smaller, more restricted gapes. Conversely, many predatory lineages have comparatively large gapes, as larger gapes allow for the the jaws to grab on to more effectively larger objects, namely large prey animals (Joeckel, 1990). Such a juxtaposition, however, is most evident when discussing the real killing instruments of Archaeotherium — the teeth. More so than any facet of this animal, the teeth of Archaeotherium are the real stars of the show, showing both how alike it was compared to its herbivores counterparts and more importantly, how it couldn’t be more different. For instance, the molars of Archaeotherium were quite similar to modern herbivores ungulates, in that they were robust, bunodont, and were designed for crushing and grinding, similar in form and function to modern ungulates like peccaries (Joeckel, 1990). However, while the molars give the impression that Archaeotherium was a herbivore, the other teeth tell a very different story. The incisors, for example, were enlarged, sharpened, and fully interlocked (as opposed to the flat-topped incisors seen in herbivores ungulates), creating an incisor array that was seemingly ill-suited for cropping vegetation and much more adept at for gripping, puncturing and cutting (Joeckel, 1990). Even more formidable were the canines. Like the modern pigs from which entelodonts derived their nicknames, the canines of Archaeotherium were sharp and enlarged to form prominent tusk-like teeth, but unlike pigs, they were rounded in cross-section (similar to modern carnivores like big cats, indicating more durable canines that can absorb and resist torsional forces, such as those from struggling prey) and were serrated to form a distinct cutting edge (Effinger, 1998; Joeckel, 1990; Ruff & Van Valkenburgh, 1987). These canines, along with the incisors, interlock to stabilize the jaws while biting and dismantling in a carnivore-like fashion. More strikingly, the canines also seem to act as “occlusal guides,” wherein the canines help align the movement and position of the rear teeth as they come together, allowing for a more efficient shearing action by the rear teeth. This function is seen most prevalently modern carnivorous mammals, and is evidenced by the canine tooth-wear, which is also analogous to modern predators like bears and canids (Joeckel, 1990). Indeed, going off such teeth alone, it is clear that Archaeotherium is far more predatory than expected of an ungulate. However, the real stars of the show, the teeth that truly betray the predatory nature of these ungulates, are the premolars. Perhaps the most carnivore-like teeth in the entelodont’s entire tooth row, the premolars of Archaeotherium, particularly the anterior premolars, are laterally compressed, somewhat conical in shape, and are weakly serrated to bear a cutting edge, giving them a somewhat carnivorous form and function of shearing and slicing (Effinger, 1998). Most strikingly of all, the premolars of Archaeotherium bear unique features similar not to modern herbivores, but to durophagous carnivores like hyenas, particularly apical wear patterns, highly thickened enamel, “zigzag-shaped” enamel prism layers (Hunter-Schraeger bands) on the premolars which is also seen in osteophagous animals like hyenas, and an interlocking premolar interface wherein linear objects (such as bones) inserted into jaws from the side would be pinned between the premolars and crushed (Foss, 2001). Taken together, these features do not suggest a diet of grass or vegetation like other ungulates. Rather, they suggest a far more violent diet, one including flesh as well as hard, durable foods, particularly bone. All in all, the evidence is clear. Archaeotherium and other entelodonts, unlike the rest of their artiodactyl kin, were not the passive herbivores as we envision ungulates today. Rather, they were willing, unrepentant meat-eaters that had a taste for flesh as well as foliage. Of course, even with such lines of evidence, its hard to conclude that Archaeotherium was a true predator. After all, its wide gape and durophagous teeth could have just as easily been used for scavenging or even to eat tough plant matter such as seeds or nuts, as in peccaries and pigs, which themselves share many of the same adaptations as Archaeotherium, include the more carnivorous ones (e.g. the wide gape, using the canines as an occlusal guide, etc.). How exactly do we know that these things were veritable predators and not pretenders to the title. To this end, there is yet one last piece of evidence, one that puts on full display the predatory prowess of Archaeotherium —evidence of a kill itself. Found within oligocene-aged sediment in what is now Wyoming, a collection of various fossil remains was found, each belonging to the ancient sheep-sized camel Poebrotherium, with many of the skeletal remains being disarticulated and even missing whole hindlimbs or even entire rear halves of their body. Tellingly, many of the remains bear extensive bite marks and puncture wounds across their surface. Upon close examination, the spacing and size of the punctures leave only one culprit: Archaeotherium. Of course, such an event could still have been scavenging; the entelodonts were consuming the remains of already dead, decomposed camels, explaining the bite marks. What was far more telling, however, was where the bite marks were found. In addition bite marks being found on the torso and lumbar regions of the camels, various puncture wounds were found on the skull and neck, which were otherwise uneaten. Scavengers rarely feast on the head to begin with; there is very little worthwhile meat on it besides the brain, cheek-muscles and eyes, and even if they did feed on the skull and neck, they would still eat it wholesale, not merely bite it and then leave it otherwise untouched. Indeed, it was clear that this was no mere scavenging event. Rather than merely consuming these camels, Archaeotherium was actively preying upon and killing them, dispatching them via a crushing bite to the skull or neck before dismembering and even bisecting the hapless camels with their powerful jaws to preferentially feast on their hindquarters (likely by swallowing the hindquarters whole, as the pelvis of Poebrotherium was coincidentally the perfect width for Archaeotherium to devour whole), eventually discarding the leftovers in meat caches for later consumption (Sundell, 1999). With this finding, such a feat of brutality leaves no doubt in ones mind as to what the true nature of Archaeotherium was. This was no herbivore, nor was it a simple scavenger. This was an active, rapacious predator, the most powerful in its entire ecosystem. Indeed, with such brutal evidence of predation frozen in time, combined with various dental, cranial, and post cranial adaptations of this formidable animal, it’s possible to paint a picture of how this formidable creature lived. Though an omnivore by trade, willing and able to feast on plant matter such as grass, roots and tubers, Archaeotherium was also a wanton predator that took just about any prey it wanted. Upon detecting its prey, it approached its vicim from ambush before launching itself at blazing speed. From there, its cursorial, hoofed legs, used by other ungulates for escape predation, were here employed to capture prey, carrying it at great speeds as it caught up to its quarry. Having closed the distance with its target, it was then that the entelodont brought its jaws to bear, grabbing hold of the victim with powerful jaws and gripping teeth to bring it to a screeching halt. If the victim is lucky, Archaeotherium will then kill it quickly with a crushing bite to the skull or neck, puncturing the brain or spinal cord and killing its target instantly. If not, the victim is eaten alive, torn apart while it’s still kicking, as modern boars will do today. In any case, incapacitated prey are subsequently dismantled, with the entelodont using its entire head and heavily-muscled necks to bite into and pull apart its victim in devastating “puncture-and pull’ bites (Foss, 2001). Prey would then finally be consumed starting at the hindquarters, with not even the bones of its prey being spared. Such brutality, though far from clean, drove home a singular truth: that during this time, ungulates were not just prey, that they were not the mere “predator-fodder” we know them as today. rather, they themselves were the predators themselves, dominating as superb hunters within their domain and even suppressing clades we know as predators today, least of all the carnivorans. Indeed, during this point in time, the age of the carnivorous ungulates had hit their stride, and more specifically, the age of entelodonts had begun. Of course, more so than any other entelodont, Archaeotherium took to this new age with gusto. Archaeotherium lived from 35-28 million years ago during the late Eocene and early Oligocene in a locality known today as the White River Badlands, a fossil locality nestled along the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Though a chalky, barren landscape today, during the time of Archaeotherium, the White River Badlands was a swamp-like floodplain crisscrossed with rivers and interspersed with by a mosaic of forests concentrated around waterways, open woodlands and open plains. As with most ecosystems with such a lush disposition, this locale teemed with life, with ancient hornless rhinos, small horse-like hyracodonts and early camels roaming the open habitats while giant brontotheres, small early horses and strange, sheep-like ungulates called merycoidodonts (also known as “oreodonts”) dwelled within the dense forests. Within this locale, Archaeotherium stalked the open woodlands and riparian forests of its domain. Here, it acted as a dominant predator and scavenger across is territory, filling a niche similar to modern grizzly bears but far more predatory. Among its preferred food items would be plant matter such as roots, foliage and nuts, but also meat in the form of carrion or freshly caught prey. In this respect, smaller ungulates such as the fleet-footed camel Poebrotherium, a known prey item of Archaeotherium, would have made a for choice prey, as its small size would make it easy for Archaeotherium to dispatch with its powerful jaws, while the entelodonts swift legs gave it the speed necessary to keep pace with its agile prey. However, the entelodont didn’t have such a feast all to itself. Just as the badlands teemed with herbivores, so too did it teem with rival predators. Among their ranks included fearsome predators such as Hyaenodon, a powerful, vaguely dog-like predator up to the size of wolves (as in H. horridus) or even lions (as in the Eocene-aged H. megaloides, which was replaced by H. horridus during the Oligocene). Armed with a massive head, fierce jaws and a set of knife-like teeth that could cut down even large prey in seconds, these were some of the most formidable predators on the landscape. There were also the nimravids, cat-like carnivorans that bore saber-teeth to kill large prey in seconds, and included the likes of the lynx-sized Dinictis, the leopard-sized Hoplophoneus and even the jaguar-sized Eusmilus. Furthermore, there were amphicyonids, better known as the bear-dogs. Though known from much larger forms later on in their existence, during the late Eocene and Oligocene, they were much smaller and acted as the “canid-analogues” of the ecosystem, filling a role similar to wolves or coyotes. Last but not least, there were the bathornithid birds, huge cariamiform birds related to modern seriemas but much larger, which filled a niche similar to modern seriemas or secretary birds, albeit on a much larger scale. Given such competition, it would seem that Archaeotherium would have its hands full. However, things are not as they appear. For starters, habitat differences would mitigate high amounts of competition, as both Hyaenodon and the various nimravids occupy more specialized ecological roles (being a plains-specialist and forest-specialist, respectively) than did Archaeotherium, providing a buffer to stave off competition: More importantly, however, none of the aforementioned predators were simply big enough to take Archaeotherium on. During the roughly 7 million years existence of Archaeotherium, the only carnivore that matched it in size was H. megaloides, and even that would have an only applied to average A. mortoni individuals, not to the much larger, bison-sized “Megachoerus” individuals. The next largest predator at that point would be the jaguars-sized Eusmilus (specifically E. adelos) which would have only been a bit more than half the size of even an average A. mortoni. Besides that, virtually every other predator on the landscape was simply outclassed by the much larger entelodont in terms of size and brute strength. As such, within its domain, Archaeotherium had total, unquestioned authority, dominating the other predators in the landscape and likely stealing their kills as well. In fact, just about the only threat Archaeotherium had was other Archaeotherium, as fossil bite marks suggest that this animal regularly and fraglantly engaged in intraspecific combat, usually through face-biting and possibly even jaw-wrestling (Effinger, 1998; Tanke & Currie, 1998). Nevertheless, it was clear that Archaeotherium was the undisputed king of the badlands; in a landscape of hyaenodonts and carnivorans galore, it was a hoofed ungulate that reigned supreme. However, such a reign would not last. As the Eocene transitioned into the Eocene, the planet underwent an abrupt cooling and drying phase known as Eocene-Oligocene Transition or more simply the Grande Coupure. This change in climate would eliminate the sprawling wetlands and river systems that Archaeotherium had been depending on, gradually replacing it with drier and more open habitats. To its credit, Archaeotherium did manage to hang on, persisting well after the Grand-Coupure had taken place, but in the end the damage had been done; Archaeotherium was a dead-man-walking. Eventually, by around 28 million years ago, Archaeotherium would go extinct, perishing due to this change in global climate (Gillham, 2019). Entelodonts as a whole would persist into the Miocene, producing some of their largest forms ever known in the form of the bison-sized Daeodon (which was itself even more carnivorous than Archaeotherium), however they too would meet the same fate as their earlier cousins. By around 15-20 million years ago, entelodonts as a whole would go extinct. However, while the entelodonts may have perished, this was not the end of carnivorous ungulates as a whole. Recall that the cetacodontamorphs, the lineage of artiodactyls that produced the entelodonts, left behind two living descendants. The first among them were the hippos, themselves fairly frequent herbivores. The second of such lineage, however, was a different story. Emerging out of South Asia, this lineage of piscivorous cetacodontamorphs, in a an attempt to further specialize for the fish-hunting lifestyle, began to delve further and further into the water, becoming more and more aquatic and the millennia passed by. At a certain point, these carnivorous artiodactlys had become something completely unrecognizable from their original hoofed forms. Their skin became hairless and their bodies became streamlined for life in water. Their hoofed limbs grew into giant flippers for steering in the water and their previously tiny tails became massive and sported giant tail flukes for aquatic propulsion. Their noses even moved to the tip of their head, becoming a blowhole that would be signature to this clade as a whole. Indeed, this clade was none other than the modern whales, themselves derived, carnivorous ungulates that had specialized for a life in the water, and in doing so, became the some of the most dominant aquatic predators across the globe for millions of years. Indeed, though long gone, the legacy of the entelodonts and of predatory ungulates as a whole, a legacy Archaeotherium itself had helped foster, lives on in these paragons of predatory prowess, showing that the ungulates are more than just the mere “prey” that they are often made out to be. Moreover, given the success that carnivorous ungulates had enjoyed in the past and given how modern omnivorous ungulates like boar dabble in predation themselves, perhaps, in the distant future, this planet may see the rise of carnivorous ungulates once again, following in the footsteps left behind by Archaeotherium and the other predatory ungulates all those millions of years ago. |
2024.05.14 16:25 Mophandel Archaeotherium, the King of the White River Badlands
 | Art by Bob Nicholls submitted by Mophandel to Naturewasmetal [link] [comments] Nowadays, when we envision the words “prey,” among modern mammalian fauna, few taxa come to mind as quickly as the hoofed mammals, better known as the ungulates. Indeed, for the better part of their entire evolutionary history, the ungulates have become entirely indistinguishable from the term “prey.” Across their two major modern branches, the artiodactyls (the “even-toed ungulates,” such as bovids, pigs, deer, hippos and giraffes) and the perissodactyls (the “odd-toed ungulates,” including horses, rhinos and tapir), the ungulates too have created an empire spanning nearly every continent, establishing themselves as the the dominant herbivores throughout their entire range. However, as a price for such success, their lot as herbivores have forced them into an unenviable position: being the food for the predators. Indeed, throughout the diets of most modern predators, ungulates make up the majority, if not the entirety, of their diet, becoming their counterparts in this evolutionary dance of theirs. They have become the lamb to their wolf, the zebra to their lion, the stag to their tiger. If there is a predator in need of lunch, chances are that there is an ungulate there to provide it. Of course, such a dynamic is not necessarily a recent innovation. For the last 15-20 million years, across much of the world, both new and old, the ungulates have served as prey for these predators through it all. Over the course of whole epochs, these two groups have played into these roles for millions of years, coevolving with each other in an eons-long game of cat-and-mouse. The shoes they fill are not new, but have existed for ages, and within their niches they have cultivated their roles to perfection. Indeed, with such a tenured history, it seems hardly surprising the ungulates are wholly inseparable from the terms “prey,” itself. However, while this is the case now, as it has been for the last 15-20 million years, go back far enough, and we see that this dynamic is not as set in stone as we would think. Indeed, back during the Eocene and Oligocene, during the very earliest days of age of mammals, things were very different for the ungulates. While today they are considered little more than food for modern predators, during these olden days, the ungulates weren’t quite so benign. In fact, far from being fodder for top predators, the ungulates had turned the tables, instead becoming top predators themselves. Indeed, though nearly unheard of today, throughout much of the Eocene and Oligocene, carnivorous ungulates thrived in abundance, developing specializations for catching large prey and establishing themselves as top predators that competed alongside the more traditional carnivores, and even dominating them in some instances. Given such success, it’s no wonder that multiple such clades had arisen during this time. Such predators included the arctocyonids, a lineage of (ironically) hoof-less ungulates with large jaws and sharp teeth for capturing large prey. There were also the mesonychians, a lineage of dog-like ungulates with massive skulls and jaws that allowed them to reign as the top predator across much of the Eocene. However, among these various lineages, one stands stands out among the rest, by far. Arising during the Eocene, this lineage, though superficially resembling modern pigs, hailed from one an ancient lineage of artiodactyls far removed from swine or most other ungulates in general, with few close relatives alive today. Through perhaps not the most predatory of the bunch, it was among the most formidable, as their superficially pig-like appearance came with giant predatory jaws and teeth unlike anything from the modern era. And of course, as if all of that wasn’t enough, this lineage also went on to earn arguably one of the most badass nicknames of any lineage of mammals, period. These predators, of course, were the entelodonts, a.k.a the “hell-pigs.” More so than any other predatory ungulate lineage, these formidable ungulates were the ones to turn the current paradigm upside down, becoming some of the largest and most dominant carnivores in their landscape, even with (and often in spite of) the presence of more traditional predators. Through impressive size, fearsome teeth and sheer tenacity, these animals became the top dogs of their time, ruling as behemoth-kings of their Paleogene kingdoms, domineering all comers, and throughout the ranks, one entelodont in particular demonstrated such dominance the best. Though not the largest or most powerful of their kind, it is one of the most iconic, being among the most well-known members of its lineage to date. Moreover, this enteledont also has some of the most complete life histories ever seen out of this clade, with its brutality and predatory prowess being displayed in the fossil record in a way seen in no other member of its kind. More than anything else, however, it was this predator that best turned the notion of “ungulates being prey” on its head, living in an environment that bore some of the largest carnivoran hypercarnivores to date and still reigning as the undisputed top predator of its domain. This fearsome beast was none other than Archaeotherium, icon of the entelodonts, terror of the Oligocene American west and undisputed king of the White River badlands. The rise of Archaeotherium (and of entelodonts in general) is closely tied to the ascendancy of carnivorous ungulates as a whole, one of the earliest evolutionary success stories of the entire Cenozoic. Having become their own derived clade since the late Cretaceous, the ungulates were remarkably successful during the early Paleogene, as they were among the first mammalian clades to reach large sizes during those early days after the non-avian dinosaurs had gone extinct. As such, it was with incredible swiftness that, as the Paleogene progressed, the ungulates swooped upon the various niches left empty by the K-Pg mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs. This of course included the herbivorous niches we would know them for today, but this also included other, much more carnivore roles. Indeed, early on during the Paleogene, it was the ungulates that first seized the roles of large mammalian predators, becoming some the earliest large mammalian carnivores to ever live, well before even the carnivorans. Such predators included the arctocyonids, a lineage of vaguely dog-like, hoof-less ungulates with robust jaws and sharpened teeth that acted as some of earliest large carnivores of the Paleocene, with genera such as Arctocyon mumak getting up to the size of big cats. Even more prolific were the mesonychids. More so than what pretty much any other lineage of predator, it was the mesonychids that would stand out as the earliest dominant predators of the early Cenozoic. Growing up to the size of bears and with enormous, bone-crushing jaws, the mesonychids were among the most powerful and successful predators on the market at that time, with a near-global range and being capable of subjugating just about any other predator in their environments. Indeed, they, along with other carnivorous ungulates (as well as ungulates in general), were experiencing a golden age during this time, easily being the most prolific predators of the age. Given such prevalence, it should be no surprise that there would be yet another lineage of predatory ungulates would throw their hat into the ring, and by early Eocene, that contender would none other than the entelodonts. The very first entelodonts had arisen from artiodactyl ancestors during the Eocene epoch, at a time when artiodactyls were far more diverse and bizarre than they are now. Through today known from their modern herbivorous representatives such as bovines, deer, and antelope, during the Paleocene and Eocene, the artiodacyls, as with most ungulates of that time, were stronger and far more predaceous, particularly when it came to one such clade of artiodactyls, the cetacodontamorphs. Only known today from hippos and another group of artiodactyls (one which will become relevant later), the cetacodantomorphs emerged out of Asia around 55 million years ago, at around the same time that artiodactyls themselves had made their debut. These animals included the first truly predatory artiodactyls, with many of them possessing large skulls with powerful jaws and sharp, predatory teeth. Among their ranks included animals as puny as Indohyus, a piscivorous artiodactyl the size of a cat, to as formidable as Andrewsarchus, a giant, bison-sized predator often touted as one of the largest predatory mammals to ever live. Given such a predatory disposition, it wouldn’t be long until this clade produced a lineage of truly diverse, truly successful predators, and by around 40 million years ago, that is exactly what they did, as it was at that time that the entelodonts themselves first emerged. From their Asian homeland, the entelodonts spread across the world, spreading through not only most of Eurasia but also colonizing North America as well, with genera such as Brachyhyops being found across both continents. Here, in this North American frontier, the entelodonts began to diversify further, turning into their most successful and formidable forms yet, and it was around the late Eocene and early Oligocene that Archaeotherium itself had entered the scene. Just from a passing glance at Archaeotherium, it is clear how exactly it (as well as the other entelodonts) earned the nickname of “hell-pigs.” It was a bruiser for starters; its body bore a robust, pig-like physique, with prominent neural spines and their associated musculature forming a hump around the shoulder region, similar to the hump of a bison. With such a bulky physique came with it impressive size; the average A. mortoni had a head-body length of roughly 1.6-2.0 m (5.3-6.6 ft), a shoulder height of 1.2 m (4 ft) and a body mass of around 180 kg (396 lb) in weight (Boardman & Secord, 2013; Joeckel, 1990). At such sizes, an adult Archaeotherium the size of a large male black bear. However, they had the potential to get even bigger. While most Archaeotherium specimens were around the size described above, a select few specimens, labeled under the synonymous genus “Megachoerus,” are found to be much larger, with skulls getting up to 66% longer than average A. mortoni specimens (Foss, 2001; Joeckel, 1990). At such sizes and using isometric scaling, such massive Archaeotherium specimens would attained body lengths over 2.5 m (8.2 ft) and would have reached weighs well over 500 kg (1100 lb), or as big as a mature male polar bear. Indeed, at such sizes, it is already abundantly evident that Archaeotherium is a force to be recorded with. However, there was more to these formidable animals than sheer size alone. Behind all that bulk was an astoundingly swift and graceful predator, especially in terms of locomotion. Indeed, the hoofed feet of Archaeotherium, along with other entelodonts, sported several adaptations that gave it incredible locomotive efficiency, essentially turning it into a speed demon of the badlands. Such adaptations include longer distal leg elements (e.g. the radius and tibia) than their proximal counterparts (e.g. the humerus and femur), fusion of the radius and ulna for increased running efficiency, the loss of the clavicle (collar-bone) to allow for greater leg length, the loss of the acromion to enhance leg movement along the fore-and-aft plane, the loss of digits to reduce the mass of the forelimb, the fusion of the ectocuneiform and the mesocuneiform wrist-bones, among many other such traits (Theodore, 1996) . Perhaps most significant of these adaptations is the evolution of the “double-pulley astragalus (ankle-bone),” a specialized modification of the ankle that, while restricting rotation and side-to-side movement at the ankle-joint, allows for greater rotation in the fore-and-aft direction, thus allowing for more more powerful propulsion from the limbs, faster extension and retraction of the limbs and overall greater locomotive efficiency (Foss, 2001). Of course, such a trait was not only found in entelodonts but in artiodactyls as a whole, likely being a response to predatory pressures from incumbent predatory clades arising at the same time as the artiodactyls (Foss, 2001). However, in the case of the entelodonts, such adaptations were not used for merely escaping predators. Rather, they were used to for another, much more lethal effect… Such notions are further reinforced by the entelodonts most formidable aspect, none either than their fearsome jaws, and in this respect, Archaeotherium excelled. Both for its size and in general, the head of Archaeotherium was massive, measuring 40-50 cm (1.3-1.6 ft) in length among average A. mortoni specimens, to up to 78 cm (~2.6 ft) in the larger “Megachoerus” specimens (Joeckel, 1990). Such massive skulls were supported and supplemented by equally massive neck muscles and ligaments, which attached to massive neural spines on the anterior thoracic vertebrae akin to a bisons hump as well as to the sternum, allowing Archaeotherium to keep its head aloft despite the skulls massive size (Effinger, 1998). Of course, with such a massive skull, it should come as no surprise that such skulls housed exceptionally formidable jaws as well, and indeed, the bite of Archaeotherium was an especially deadly one. Its zygomatic arches (cheek-bones) and its temporal fossa were enlarged and expanded, indicative of massive temporalis muscles that afforded Archaeotherium astoundingly powerful bites (Joeckel, 1990). This is further augmented by Archaeotherium’s massive jugal flanges (bony projections of the cheek), which supported powerful masseter muscles which enhanced chewing and mastication, as well as an enlarged postorbital bar that reinforced the skull against torsional stresses (Foss, 2001). Last but not least, powerful jaws are supplemented by an enlarged gape, facilitated by a low coronoid process and enlarged posterior mandibular tubercles (bony projections originating from the lower jaw), which provided an insertion site for sternum-to-mandible jaw abduction muscles, allowing for a more forceful opening of the jaw (Foss, 2001). All together, such traits suggest a massive and incredibly fearsome bite, perhaps the most formidable of any animal in its environment. Of course, none of such traits are especially indicative of a predatory lifestyle. Indeed, many modern non-predatory ungulates, like hippos, pigs and peccaries, also possess large, formidable skulls and jaws. However, in peeling back the layers, it is found there was more to the skull of Archaeotherium that lies in store. Indeed, when inspecting the animal closely, a unique mosaic of features is revealed; traits that make it out to be much more lethal than the average artiodactyl. On one hand, Archaeotherium possessed many traits similar to those of herbivores animals, as is expected of ungulates. For instance, its jaw musculature that allowed the lower jaw of Archaeotherium a full side-to-side chewing motion as in herbivores (whereas most carnivores can only move their lower jaw up and down)(Effinger, 1998). On the other hand, Archaeotherium wielded many other traits far more lethal in their morphology, less akin to a herbivore and far more akin to a bonafide predator. For instance, the aforementioned enlarged gape of Archaeotherium is a bizarre trait on a supposed herbivore, as such animals do not need large gapes to eat vegetation and thus have smaller, more restricted gapes. Conversely, many predatory lineages have comparatively large gapes, as larger gapes allow for the the jaws to grab on to more effectively larger objects, namely large prey animals (Joeckel, 1990). Such a juxtaposition, however, is most evident when discussing the real killing instruments of Archaeotherium — the teeth. More so than any facet of this animal, the teeth of Archaeotherium are the real stars of the show, showing both how alike it was compared to its herbivores counterparts and more importantly, how it couldn’t be more different. For instance, the molars of Archaeotherium were quite similar to modern herbivores ungulates, in that they were robust, bunodont, and were designed for crushing and grinding, similar in form and function to modern ungulates like peccaries (Joeckel, 1990). However, while the molars give the impression that Archaeotherium was a herbivore, the other teeth tell a very different story. The incisors, for example, were enlarged, sharpened, and fully interlocked (as opposed to the flat-topped incisors seen in herbivores ungulates), creating an incisor array that was seemingly ill-suited for cropping vegetation and much more adept at for gripping, puncturing and cutting (Joeckel, 1990). Even more formidable were the canines. Like the modern pigs from which entelodonts derived their nicknames, the canines of Archaeotherium were sharp and enlarged to form prominent tusk-like teeth, but unlike pigs, they were rounded in cross-section (similar to modern carnivores like big cats, indicating more durable canines that can absorb and resist torsional forces, such as those from struggling prey) and were serrated to form a distinct cutting edge (Effinger, 1998; Joeckel, 1990; Ruff & Van Valkenburgh, 1987). These canines, along with the incisors, interlock to stabilize the jaws while biting and dismantling in a carnivore-like fashion. More strikingly, the canines also seem to act as “occlusal guides,” wherein the canines help align the movement and position of the rear teeth as they come together, allowing for a more efficient shearing action by the rear teeth. This function is seen most prevalently modern carnivores mammals, and is evidenced by the canine tooth-wear, which is also analogous to modern predators like bears and canids (Joeckel, 1990). Indeed, going off such teeth alone, it is clear that Archaeotherium is far more predatory than expected of an ungulate. However, the real stars of the show, the teeth that truly betray the predatory nature of these ungulates, are the premolars. Perhaps the most carnivore-like teeth in the entelodont’s entire tooth row, the premolars of Archaeotherium, particularly the anterior premolars, are laterally compressed, somewhat conical in shape, and are weakly serrated to bear a cutting edge, giving them a somewhat carnivorous form and function of shearing and slicing (Effinger, 1998). Most strikingly of all, the premolars of Archaeotherium bear unique features similar not to modern herbivores, but to durophagous carnivores like hyenas, particularly apical wear patterns, highly thickened enamel, “zigzag-shaped” enamel prism layers (Hunter-Schraeger bands) on the premolars which is also seen in osteophagous animals like hyenas, and an interlocking premolar interface wherein linear objects (such as bones) inserted into jaws from the side would be pinned between the premolars and crushed (Foss, 2001). Taken together, these features do not suggest a diet of grass or vegetation like other ungulates. Rather, they suggest a far more violent diet, one including flesh as well as hard, durable foods, particularly bone. All in all, the evidence is clear. Archaeotherium and other entelodonts, unlike the rest of their artiodactyl kin, were not the passive herbivores as we envision ungulates today. Rather, they were willing, unrepentant meat-eaters that had a taste for flesh as well as foliage. Of course, even with such lines of evidence, its hard to conclude that Archaeotherium was a true predator. After all, its wide gape and durophagous teeth could have just as easily been used for scavenging or even to eat tough plant matter such as seeds or nuts, as in peccaries and pigs, which themselves share many of the same adaptations as Archaeotherium, include the more carnivorous ones (e.g. the wide gape, using the canines as an occlusal guide, etc.). How exactly do we know that these things were veritable predators and not pretenders to the title. To this end, there is yet one last piece of evidence, one that puts on full display the predatory prowess of Archaeotherium —evidence of a kill itself. Found within oligocene-aged sediment in what is now Wyoming, a collection of various fossil remains was found, each belonging to the ancient sheep-sized camel Poebrotherium, with many of the skeletal remains being disarticulated and even missing whole hindlimbs or even entire rear halves of their body. Tellingly, many of the remains bear extensive bite marks and puncture wounds across their surface. Upon close examination, the spacing and size of the punctures leave only one culprit: Archaeotherium. Of course, such an event could still have been scavenging; the entelodonts were consuming the remains of already dead, decomposed camels, explaining the bite marks. What was far more telling, however, was where the bite marks were found. In addition bite marks being found on the torso and lumbar regions of the camels, various puncture wounds were found on the skull and neck, which were otherwise uneaten. Scavengers rarely feast on the head to begin with; there is very little worthwhile meat on it besides the brain, cheek-muscles and eyes, and even if they did feed on the skull and neck, they would still eat it wholesale, not merely bite it and then leave it otherwise untouched. Indeed, it was clear that this was no mere scavenging event. Rather than merely consuming these camels, Archaeotherium was actively preying upon and killing them, dispatching them via a crushing bite to the skull or neck before dismembering and even bisecting the hapless camels with their powerful jaws to preferentially feast on their hindquarters (likely by swallowing the hindquarters whole, as the pelvis of Poebrotherium was coincidentally the perfect width for Archaeotherium to devour whole), eventually discarding the leftovers in meat caches for later consumption (Sundell, 1999). With this finding, such a feat of brutality leaves no doubt in ones mind as to what the true nature of Archaeotherium was. This was no herbivore, nor was it a simple scavenger. This was an active, rapacious predator, the most powerful in its entire ecosystem. Indeed, with such brutal evidence of predation frozen in time, combined with various dental, cranial, and post cranial adaptations of this formidable animal, it’s possible to paint a picture of how this formidable creature lived. Though an omnivore by trade, willing and able to feast on plant matter such as grass, roots and tubers, Archaeotherium was also a wanton predator that took just about any prey it wanted. Upon detecting its prey, it approached its vicim from ambush before launching itself at blazing speed. From there, its cursorial, hoofed legs, used by other ungulates for escape predation, were here employed to capture prey, carrying it at great speeds as it caught up to its quarry. Having closed the distance with its target, it was then that the entelodont brought its jaws to bear, grabbing hold of the victim with powerful jaws and gripping teeth to bring it to a screeching halt. If the victim is lucky, Archaeotherium will then kill it quickly with a crushing bite to the skull or neck, puncturing the brain or spinal cord and killing its target instantly. If not, the victim is eaten alive, torn apart while it’s still kicking, as modern boars will do today. In any case, incapacitated prey are subsequently dismantled, with the entelodont using its entire head and heavily-muscled necks to bite into and pull apart its victim in devastating “puncture-and pull’ bites (Foss, 2001). Prey would then finally be consumed starting at the hindquarters, with not even the bones of its prey being spared. Such brutality, though far from clean, drove home a singular truth: that during this time, ungulates were not just prey, that they were not the mere “predator-fodder” we know them as today. rather, they themselves were the predators themselves, dominating as superb hunters within their domain and even suppressing clades we know as predators today, least of all the carnivorans. Indeed, during this point in time, the age of the carnivorous ungulates had hit their stride, and more specifically, the age of entelodonts had begun. Of course, more so than any other ettelodont, Archaeotherium took to this new age with gusto. Archaeotherium lived from 35-28 million years ago during the late Eocene and early Oligocene in a locality known today as the White River Badlands, a fossil locality nestled along the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Though a chalky, barren landscape today, during the time of Archaeotherium, the White River Badlands was a swamp-like floodplain crisscrossed with rivers and interspersed with by a mosaic of forests concentrated around waterways, open woodlands and open plains. As with most ecosystems with such a lush disposition, this locale teemed with life, with ancient hornless rhinos, small horse-like hyracodonts and early camels roaming the open habitats while giant brontotheres, small early horses and strange, sheep-like ungulates called merycoidodonts (also known as “oreodonts”) dwelled within the dense forests. Within this locale, Archaeotherium stalked the open woodlands and riparian forests of its domain. Here, it acted as a dominant predator and scavenger across is territory, filling a niche similar to modern grizzly bears but far more predatory. Among its preferred food items would be plant matter such as roots, foliage and nuts, but also meat in the form of carrion or freshly caught prey. In this respect, smaller ungulates such as the fleet-footed camel Poebrotherium, a known prey item of Archaeotherium, would have made a for choice prey, as its small size would make it easy for Archaeotherium to dispatch with its powerful jaws, while the entelodonts swift legs gave it the speed necessary to keep pace with its agile prey. However, the entelodont didn’t have such a feast all to itself. Just as the badlands teemed with herbivores, so too did it teem with rival predators. Among their ranks included fearsome predators such as Hyaenodon, a powerful, vaguely dog-like predator up to the size of wolves (as in H. horridus) or even lions (as in the Eocene-aged H. megaloides, which was replaced by H. horridus during the Oligocene). Armed with a massive head, fierce jaws and a set of knife-like teeth that could cut down even large prey in seconds, these were some of the most formidable predators on the landscape. There were also the nimravids, cat-like carnivorans that bore saber-teeth to kill large prey in seconds, and included the likes of the lynx-sized Dinictis, the leopard-sized Hoplophoneus and even the jaguar-sized Eusmilus. Furthermore, there were amphicyonids, better known as the bear-dogs. Though known from much larger forms later on in their existence, during the late Eocene and Oligocene, they were much smaller and acted as the “canid-analogues” of the ecosystem, filling a role similar to wolves or coyotes. Last but not least, there were the bathornithid birds, huge cariamiform birds related to modern seriemas but much larger, which filled a niche similar to modern seriemas or secretary birds, albeit on a much larger scale. Given such competition, it would seem that Archaeotherium would have its hands full. However, things are not as they appear. For starters, habitat differences would mitigate high amounts of competition, as both Hyaenodon and the various nimravids occupy more specialized ecological roles (being a plains-specialist and forest-specialist, respectively) than did Archaeotherium, providing a buffer to stave off competition: More importantly, however, none of the aforementioned predators were simply big enough to take Archaeotherium on. During the roughly 7 million years existence of Archaeotherium, the only carnivore that matched it in size was H. megaloides, and even that would have an only applied to average A. mortoni individuals, not to the much larger, bison-sized “Megachoerus” individuals. The next largest predator at that point would be the jaguars-sized Eusmilus (specifically E. adelos) which would have only been a bit more than half the size of even an average A. mortoni. Besides that, virtually every other predator on the landscape was simply outclassed by the much larger entelodont in terms of size and brute strength. As such, within its domain, Archaeotherium had total, unquestioned authority, dominating the other predators in the landscape and likely stealing their kills as well. In fact, just about the only threat Archaeotherium had was other Archaeotherium, as fossil bite marks suggest that this animal regularly and fraglantly engaged in intraspecific combat, usually through face-biting and possibly even jaw-wrestling (Effinger, 1998; Tanke & Currie, 1998). Nevertheless, it was clear that Archaeotherium was the undisputed king of the badlands; in a landscape of hyaenodonts and carnivorans galore, it was a hoofed ungulate that reigned supreme. However, such a reign would not last. As the Eocene transitioned into the Eocene, the planet underwent an abrupt cooling and drying phase known as Eocene-Oligocene Transition or more simply the Grande Coupure. This change in climate would eliminate the sprawling wetlands and river systems that Archaeotherium had been depending on, gradually replacing it with drier and more open habitats. To its credit, Archaeotherium did manage to hang on, persisting well after the Grand-Coupure had taken place, but in the end the damage had been done; Archaeotherium was a dead-man-walking. Eventually, by around 28 million years ago, Archaeotherium would go extinct, perishing due to this change in global climate (Gillham, 2019). Entelodonts as a whole would persist into the Miocene, producing some of their largest forms ever known in the form of the bison-sized Daeodon (which was itself even more carnivorous than Archaeotherium), however they too would meet the same fate as their earlier cousins. By around 15-20 million years ago, entelodonts as a whole would go extinct. However, while the entelodonts may have perished, this was not the end of carnivorous ungulates as a whole. Recall that the cetacodontamorphs, the lineage of artiodactyls that produced the entelodonts, left behind two living descendants. The first among them were the hippos, themselves fairly frequent herbivores. The second of such lineage, however, was a different story. Emerging out of South Asia, this lineage of piscivorous cetacodontamorphs, in a an attempt to further specialize for the fish-hunting lifestyle, began to delve further and further into the water, becoming more and more aquatic and the millennia passed by. At a certain point, these carnivorous artiodactlys had become something completely unrecognizable from their original hoofed forms. Their skin became hairless and their bodies became streamlined for life in water. Their hoofed limbs grew into giant flippers for steering in the water and their previously tiny tails became massive and sported giant tail flukes for aquatic propulsion. Their noses even moved to the tip of their head, becoming a blowhole that would be signature to this clade as a whole. Indeed, this clade was none other than the modern whales, themselves derived, carnivorous ungulates that had specialized for a life in the water, and in doing so, became the some of the most dominant aquatic predators across the globe for millions of years. Indeed, though long gone, the legacy of the entelodonts and of predatory ungulates as a whole, a legacy Archaeotherium itself had helped foster, lives on in these paragons of predatory prowess, showing that the ungulates are more than just the mere “prey” that they are often made out to be. Moreover, given the success that carnivorous ungulates had enjoyed in the past and given how modern omnivorous ungulates like boar dabble in predation themselves, perhaps, in the distant future, this planet may see the rise of carnivorous ungulates once again, following in the footsteps left behind by Archaeotherium and the other predatory ungulates all those millions of years ago. |
2024.05.13 20:09 snowboardnirvana Google's Smartglasses Patent acquired from Canadian Company 'North' was published last week
Why is Dr. Mark Spitzer still on our BoD? Hmmm.
https://www.patentlyapple.com/2024/05/googles-smartglasses-patent-acquired-from-canadian-company-north-was-published-last-week.html
Integrated Laser Package with Light Intensity Package
Google's acquired patent describes systems and methods for providing laser projectors having laser-based optical engines as well as light intensity and/or laser output power measuring (e.g. monitoring) capabilities. According to the various embodiments described herein, an optical engine of a laser projector includes at least one laser source (e.g., a laser diode or a plurality of laser diodes) that may be enclosed in a (e.g. partially or completely hermetically sealed) enclosure. The enclosure may include an optical window (sometimes referred to herein as an “exit window”) that may be integrated with one of its side walls or top surface or that forms one of its side walls or top surface.
Laser light beams output by the laser source(s) may pass through the exit window to exit the enclosure during active operation of the laser projector. The optical engine may support a relatively small substrate area for power monitoring, reducing the overall size of the optical engine. The laser projector or the optical engine can therefore be flexibly employed in a variety of display designs, including wearable heads-up displays or other head-mounted displays.
In some embodiments, after passing through the exit window, the light beams are passed through respective collimating lenses to a dichroic filtebeam combiner, at which light beams of different wavelengths are combined. The combined light beams may then be directed to one or more scanning elements that project the light beams across a display surface of an object, such as the holographic lens of a pair of smart glasses or another type of wearable heads-up display.
While various embodiments described are provided in the context of a wearable heads-up display, it should be understood that the laser projector and optical engine of the present patent application can instead be included in other systems, such as projection engines, lidar systems, sensing systems, ranging systems, external cavity laser diodes (e.g., as an integrated intensity stabilization servo), and/or the like.
It is generally desirable to monitor the laser output power of the laser sources of the optical engine of the laser projector, which allows for improved control over the quality of the projected image or video and enables a controller or processor of the device that includes the laser projector to dynamically limit the maximum output power of the optical engine based on real-time or near-real-time measurements of the laser output power.
For example, laser output power monitoring tends to be particularly important for the design of laser projectors used in wearable heads-up displays due to the generally limited availability of power and space (e.g., volume) in such wearable devices. Conventional methods for designing a laser projector with laser output power monitoring capabilities require a relatively large footprint on the laser projector substrate, which may be a printed circuit board (PCB) to be dedicated to the placement of a photodetector such as a photodiode, to the placement of optical components such as a pickoff mirror, and to maintaining a clear optical path to the photodetector.
In some instances, this footprint may be as large as that of the optical engine itself. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to reduce the substrate area taken up by the photodetector(s) and/or optical component(s) (sometimes referred to collectively herein as “laser output power monitoring component(s)”) that implement laser output power monitoring for an optical engine of a laser projector.
The systems, devices, and techniques described in the patent application may provide a reduction in the substrate area required for laser power output monitoring components, e.g. by utilizing an exit window of an enclosure of an optical engine having e.g. a diffraction grating that may be disposed in or on a primary output surface of the exit window and that may redirect (e.g., via diffraction) a portion of the incident light from the laser light beam(s) output by the laser source(s) toward one or more photodetectors, which may be photodiodes, and which may be disposed across from one or more surfaces of the exit window.
According to various embodiments, the exit window includes a diffraction grating that can be disposed or formed on or in the exit window, and that redirects the incident light from the laser sources toward the one or more photodetectors. In some embodiments, one or more photodetectors may be disposed on a top surface of the substrate so as to receive light that is redirected by the diffraction grating and that is output through a one or both side walls of the exit window. A “side wall” or “side surface” of the exit window may be defined as a surface of the exit window that extends between the primary input surface of the exit window and the primary output surface of the exit window that defines a plane that intersects (e.g., that is perpendicular to) the surface of the substrate upon which the optical engine is disposed.
In some embodiments, one or more photodetectors may be disposed below the exit window and completely or partially embedded in the substrate, such that the one or more photodetectors receive light that is redirected by the diffraction grating and that is output through a bottom surface of the exit window. In some embodiments, the exit window is disposed on a first side of the substrate and one or more photodetectors, which may be photodiodes, may be disposed below the exit window on a second side of the substrate that is opposite the first side, such that the one or more photodetectors receive light that is redirected by the diffraction grating and that is output through a bottom surface of the exit window, which passes through one or more apertures that extend through the entire thickness of the substrate to reach the one or more photodetectors. In some embodiments, one or more photodetectors may be disposed above the exit window on the surface of a second substrate that opposes the surface of the first substrate on which the window is disposed, such that the one or more photodetectors receive light that is redirected by the diffraction grating and that passes through a top surface of the window.
Google's patent FIG. 1 below is an illustrative diagram showing a side view of a wearable heads-up display (WHUD) #100 that employs a laser projector #110, which may be a scanning laser projector. For example, the WHUD 100 may be a pair of smartglasses or a virtual reality (VR) headset. The laser projector comprises an optical engine #111 that includes a red laser diode (labeled “R” in FIG. 1), a green laser diode (labeled “G” in FIG. 1), and a blue laser diode (labeled “B” in FIG. 1), and a scan mirror #112 that is controllably rotatable about two axes of freedom
Generally, it is desirable to monitor laser output power in the laser projector in order to better control the image or video projected onto the Holographic Optical Element (HOE) #130 (i.e., display surface) and to limit the maximum output power of the WHUD. Monitoring laser output power in a laser projector such as the laser projector is typically performed using a discrete pickoff component to redirect a portion of the laser light #120 to an on-chip photodetector. However, such laser output power monitoring approaches require a relatively large footprint on the laser projector substrate. In order to reduce the footprint of laser output power monitoring components, an exit window of an enclosure that includes some or all of the components of the optical engine may be configured to redirect a portion of the laser light through the top, bottom, or side walls of the exit window toward one or more photodetectors placed across from and in the optical path of the top, bottom, or side walls of the exit window.
2Google-smartglasses-fig.1
Google's patent FIG. 2 below is an isometric view of a wearable heads-up display with a laser projector that includes an optical engine.
3Google-smartglasses-figs-2&4
Google's patent FIG. 4 above is a block diagram of a top-down view of a laser projector having an optical engine that includes an exit window having a holographic diffraction grating.
For more details, review patent application US20240154379 published on May 9, 2024.
Inventors
Dan Adema: Opto Mechanical Engineer (formerly from 'North,' Kitchener, Ontario) Timothy Bodiya: AR Hardware Research (formerly from 'North')
submitted by snowboardnirvana to MVIS [link] [comments]
https://www.patentlyapple.com/2024/05/googles-smartglasses-patent-acquired-from-canadian-company-north-was-published-last-week.html
Integrated Laser Package with Light Intensity Package
Google's acquired patent describes systems and methods for providing laser projectors having laser-based optical engines as well as light intensity and/or laser output power measuring (e.g. monitoring) capabilities. According to the various embodiments described herein, an optical engine of a laser projector includes at least one laser source (e.g., a laser diode or a plurality of laser diodes) that may be enclosed in a (e.g. partially or completely hermetically sealed) enclosure. The enclosure may include an optical window (sometimes referred to herein as an “exit window”) that may be integrated with one of its side walls or top surface or that forms one of its side walls or top surface.
Laser light beams output by the laser source(s) may pass through the exit window to exit the enclosure during active operation of the laser projector. The optical engine may support a relatively small substrate area for power monitoring, reducing the overall size of the optical engine. The laser projector or the optical engine can therefore be flexibly employed in a variety of display designs, including wearable heads-up displays or other head-mounted displays.
In some embodiments, after passing through the exit window, the light beams are passed through respective collimating lenses to a dichroic filtebeam combiner, at which light beams of different wavelengths are combined. The combined light beams may then be directed to one or more scanning elements that project the light beams across a display surface of an object, such as the holographic lens of a pair of smart glasses or another type of wearable heads-up display.
While various embodiments described are provided in the context of a wearable heads-up display, it should be understood that the laser projector and optical engine of the present patent application can instead be included in other systems, such as projection engines, lidar systems, sensing systems, ranging systems, external cavity laser diodes (e.g., as an integrated intensity stabilization servo), and/or the like.
It is generally desirable to monitor the laser output power of the laser sources of the optical engine of the laser projector, which allows for improved control over the quality of the projected image or video and enables a controller or processor of the device that includes the laser projector to dynamically limit the maximum output power of the optical engine based on real-time or near-real-time measurements of the laser output power.
For example, laser output power monitoring tends to be particularly important for the design of laser projectors used in wearable heads-up displays due to the generally limited availability of power and space (e.g., volume) in such wearable devices. Conventional methods for designing a laser projector with laser output power monitoring capabilities require a relatively large footprint on the laser projector substrate, which may be a printed circuit board (PCB) to be dedicated to the placement of a photodetector such as a photodiode, to the placement of optical components such as a pickoff mirror, and to maintaining a clear optical path to the photodetector.
In some instances, this footprint may be as large as that of the optical engine itself. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to reduce the substrate area taken up by the photodetector(s) and/or optical component(s) (sometimes referred to collectively herein as “laser output power monitoring component(s)”) that implement laser output power monitoring for an optical engine of a laser projector.
The systems, devices, and techniques described in the patent application may provide a reduction in the substrate area required for laser power output monitoring components, e.g. by utilizing an exit window of an enclosure of an optical engine having e.g. a diffraction grating that may be disposed in or on a primary output surface of the exit window and that may redirect (e.g., via diffraction) a portion of the incident light from the laser light beam(s) output by the laser source(s) toward one or more photodetectors, which may be photodiodes, and which may be disposed across from one or more surfaces of the exit window.
According to various embodiments, the exit window includes a diffraction grating that can be disposed or formed on or in the exit window, and that redirects the incident light from the laser sources toward the one or more photodetectors. In some embodiments, one or more photodetectors may be disposed on a top surface of the substrate so as to receive light that is redirected by the diffraction grating and that is output through a one or both side walls of the exit window. A “side wall” or “side surface” of the exit window may be defined as a surface of the exit window that extends between the primary input surface of the exit window and the primary output surface of the exit window that defines a plane that intersects (e.g., that is perpendicular to) the surface of the substrate upon which the optical engine is disposed.
In some embodiments, one or more photodetectors may be disposed below the exit window and completely or partially embedded in the substrate, such that the one or more photodetectors receive light that is redirected by the diffraction grating and that is output through a bottom surface of the exit window. In some embodiments, the exit window is disposed on a first side of the substrate and one or more photodetectors, which may be photodiodes, may be disposed below the exit window on a second side of the substrate that is opposite the first side, such that the one or more photodetectors receive light that is redirected by the diffraction grating and that is output through a bottom surface of the exit window, which passes through one or more apertures that extend through the entire thickness of the substrate to reach the one or more photodetectors. In some embodiments, one or more photodetectors may be disposed above the exit window on the surface of a second substrate that opposes the surface of the first substrate on which the window is disposed, such that the one or more photodetectors receive light that is redirected by the diffraction grating and that passes through a top surface of the window.
Google's patent FIG. 1 below is an illustrative diagram showing a side view of a wearable heads-up display (WHUD) #100 that employs a laser projector #110, which may be a scanning laser projector. For example, the WHUD 100 may be a pair of smartglasses or a virtual reality (VR) headset. The laser projector comprises an optical engine #111 that includes a red laser diode (labeled “R” in FIG. 1), a green laser diode (labeled “G” in FIG. 1), and a blue laser diode (labeled “B” in FIG. 1), and a scan mirror #112 that is controllably rotatable about two axes of freedom
Generally, it is desirable to monitor laser output power in the laser projector in order to better control the image or video projected onto the Holographic Optical Element (HOE) #130 (i.e., display surface) and to limit the maximum output power of the WHUD. Monitoring laser output power in a laser projector such as the laser projector is typically performed using a discrete pickoff component to redirect a portion of the laser light #120 to an on-chip photodetector. However, such laser output power monitoring approaches require a relatively large footprint on the laser projector substrate. In order to reduce the footprint of laser output power monitoring components, an exit window of an enclosure that includes some or all of the components of the optical engine may be configured to redirect a portion of the laser light through the top, bottom, or side walls of the exit window toward one or more photodetectors placed across from and in the optical path of the top, bottom, or side walls of the exit window.
2Google-smartglasses-fig.1
Google's patent FIG. 2 below is an isometric view of a wearable heads-up display with a laser projector that includes an optical engine.
3Google-smartglasses-figs-2&4
Google's patent FIG. 4 above is a block diagram of a top-down view of a laser projector having an optical engine that includes an exit window having a holographic diffraction grating.
For more details, review patent application US20240154379 published on May 9, 2024.
Inventors
Dan Adema: Opto Mechanical Engineer (formerly from 'North,' Kitchener, Ontario) Timothy Bodiya: AR Hardware Research (formerly from 'North')
2024.05.13 14:28 North-Accountant3231 Post surgery recovery and work life
 | Attaching my MRI here for reference. I have my appointment with my orthopedic doc shortly, but seems like i’m most likely headed towards a surgery, maybe a minimally invasive one with the camera? submitted by North-Accountant3231 to RotatorCuff [link] [comments] 27m, currently weighing 100kg. I lost around 15 kgs, and had built up a bit of strength/endurance over my last 6 months at the gym so a bit sad that will be put on halt for a while. I also have Cervical Radiculopathy due to a mild disc bulge at the C5-C6 level but my shoulder problems have been around since i was 21, due to a gym injury back in the day. Now i currently work as a software dev and I was wondering if I do indeed get surgery (which I think is the way forward but the doc will have the final word) what is my recovery looking like and how soon can I get back to work? My employers offer me the luxury of working from home, completely WFH too in case i’m unwell which I guess I qualify for now. I have a proper desk setup at home with an external monitor, keyboard, mouse, and a laptop stand for proper posture ever since my neck issues crept up. I am currently already going with physio for the neck, and have a few isometric exercises prescribed for the disc bulge. Given all this info, can anyone tell me what my road to recovery would look like and when I can get back into the gym? I’m not like a super athletic or bodybuilder, i just want to become healthy, have a certain level of cardiovascular fitness + some definition in the upper body since ive been chubby my entire life. Nothing too crazy but it sucks not being able to be active for a while. Also, more importantly than the gym, how soon can I get back to work? I would ideally not want to take more than a week or two off, has anyone had any experience typing with a sling on? Any help would be appreciated, thanks! |
2024.05.11 15:04 robeph [PC~Steam][2016-2021 (maybe)] Game where a group of characters explore and battle AI/Robots in 3/4 isometric in turn based combat
Platform(s): PC Genre: RPG/Strat(maybe)
Estimated year of release: I know it was after 2016 andam sure it was before 2021 I last played, I think
Graphics/art style: Top down 3/4 isometric, I cannot remember if 3d or if can rotate map. Was not pixel art I am sure. May or may not have some sprite based assets
Notable characters: No real notable character I remember, except sort of one character who was an engineer and had experience with the robots or whatever they were called in one of the missions they discussed it prior...i think
Notable gameplay mechanics: turn based combat, utilization of some elements of the location, like switches and wepaons maybe that were mounted on the gameplay area? like turrents or something you could activate, it is really fuzzy...
Other details: I termember an entrance to this one mission area, walking on a wall, sandstone colored brick wall, you could cross a narrow bridge or go around to a platform entrance, felt like a large fortress' wall. Once inside there were like factory elements or research lab elements of some sort, there were some mobil robot mobs, but also iunside some larger stationary I think. I have such a strong memory of the wall aread, but it's all I really can remember, and that one guy was an engineer and could do something with that skill to the ai/robot enemies. I have been looking for the title of this for a while now cos but even looking through my some 2000 games on steam, I can't find it...
what I do remember about the wall area outside in that one mission is that the wall was at a SW/NE angle, and it came to a platform that opened to about 3x the width with one or two dark entrances at that one spot that entered the factory and as you moved, there was a surprise attack of a number of those whatever the enemies were...
I can see the image of that so clearly but... no luck. Help
submitted by robeph to tipofmyjoystick [link] [comments]
Estimated year of release: I know it was after 2016 andam sure it was before 2021 I last played, I think
Graphics/art style: Top down 3/4 isometric, I cannot remember if 3d or if can rotate map. Was not pixel art I am sure. May or may not have some sprite based assets
Notable characters: No real notable character I remember, except sort of one character who was an engineer and had experience with the robots or whatever they were called in one of the missions they discussed it prior...i think
Notable gameplay mechanics: turn based combat, utilization of some elements of the location, like switches and wepaons maybe that were mounted on the gameplay area? like turrents or something you could activate, it is really fuzzy...
Other details: I termember an entrance to this one mission area, walking on a wall, sandstone colored brick wall, you could cross a narrow bridge or go around to a platform entrance, felt like a large fortress' wall. Once inside there were like factory elements or research lab elements of some sort, there were some mobil robot mobs, but also iunside some larger stationary I think. I have such a strong memory of the wall aread, but it's all I really can remember, and that one guy was an engineer and could do something with that skill to the ai/robot enemies. I have been looking for the title of this for a while now cos but even looking through my some 2000 games on steam, I can't find it...
what I do remember about the wall area outside in that one mission is that the wall was at a SW/NE angle, and it came to a platform that opened to about 3x the width with one or two dark entrances at that one spot that entered the factory and as you moved, there was a surprise attack of a number of those whatever the enemies were...
I can see the image of that so clearly but... no luck. Help
2024.05.10 18:59 LummoxJR BYOND development news 5/10/24
Those security checks have been paying off. A sneaky remnant of the Puzzle Chase AI was found in leftover files from the exotic food sources lab that got shut down. The code wasn't very active and it wasn't enough to think on its own, but it was trying to grab subroutines that might push it toward sentience again. Naturally the checks have also uncovered a number of "unorthodox" entry points into various subsystems for much less sinister purposes, and one very sinister purpose. That's right, Dr. Tavi, I caught what you tried to do to the ingredients for the Bestest Mochi machine. My cats are saving up some presents for you when you least expect it.
submitted by LummoxJR to SS13 [link] [comments]
- The icon positioning changes for 516 that were discussed last week are mostly in place, except for testing on isometric worlds.
- A little bit of bug work for 515 went on this week, but was curtained by trees having sexy times.
- Another breaking change is coming to icon positioning in 516, related to render_source. Suffice it to say I made two very big mistakes when that was introduced and it's time to make things consistent.
- Thanks to everyone who's helped support BYOND recently! You can also do your part on Patreon or SubscribeStar, if the monthly sub route is more your speed.
- This week a scrub tree spooged suffering all over my yard and house. Spez, it reminded me of you.
2024.05.08 21:51 GlacialBlades Chronic wrist tendonitis
I have chronic tendonitis in both wrists and it has a complete grip over my life. It is all I think about, it has been stopping me from doing all the activities I enjoy (grappling, guitar, video games) and it is pretty much putting my life on hold. I would kill to get over it.
My left (non-dominant) hand started occasionally hurting about five years ago but the pain wasn't so bad so I didn't have it checked out. Two years ago I eventually went and got a diagnosis for tendonitis. The orthopedic prescribed splinting and NSAIDS, which of course did nothing. Went back and got sent to occupational therapy. They did mostly massages and shock wave therapy but also encouraged me to do some exercise. It didn't really fix the issue. Six months ago, my right wrist started hurting and got diagnosed with tendonitis (although I think it might be RSI). Having no good hand got me so worried that I completely took a break from everything I enjoy doing that involves the wrists (still ongoing).
I started using a flexbar for isometric wrist/forearm training which subjectively has been the most helpful thing for my wrists so far. It immediately relieves pain and over the course of the last few months I pretty much got my right hand pain-free (though I still have some discomfort and it cracks when I bend it after using a mouse for a bit, It is also still a bit swollen on the ulnar side when I extend my fingers). For my left hand, I've had an MRI done recently that revealed onsetting degeneration of the triangular fibrocartilage as well as a thickened thumb tendon and inflammatory fluid in the tendon sheath (which can be seen from the outside as a swelling that protrudes when I bend my fingers).
My left wrist has never hurt very badly but it always feels sore after activities and never gets any better in the long run. It's just so persistent and impossible to get rid of.
I am scheduled to see a hand expert in June but I am worried that he will just say the same thing that hasn't really solved the issue so far (rest and exercise) and my ability to go back to living my life normally hangs in the balance.
submitted by GlacialBlades to overcominggravity [link] [comments]
My left (non-dominant) hand started occasionally hurting about five years ago but the pain wasn't so bad so I didn't have it checked out. Two years ago I eventually went and got a diagnosis for tendonitis. The orthopedic prescribed splinting and NSAIDS, which of course did nothing. Went back and got sent to occupational therapy. They did mostly massages and shock wave therapy but also encouraged me to do some exercise. It didn't really fix the issue. Six months ago, my right wrist started hurting and got diagnosed with tendonitis (although I think it might be RSI). Having no good hand got me so worried that I completely took a break from everything I enjoy doing that involves the wrists (still ongoing).
I started using a flexbar for isometric wrist/forearm training which subjectively has been the most helpful thing for my wrists so far. It immediately relieves pain and over the course of the last few months I pretty much got my right hand pain-free (though I still have some discomfort and it cracks when I bend it after using a mouse for a bit, It is also still a bit swollen on the ulnar side when I extend my fingers). For my left hand, I've had an MRI done recently that revealed onsetting degeneration of the triangular fibrocartilage as well as a thickened thumb tendon and inflammatory fluid in the tendon sheath (which can be seen from the outside as a swelling that protrudes when I bend my fingers).
My left wrist has never hurt very badly but it always feels sore after activities and never gets any better in the long run. It's just so persistent and impossible to get rid of.
I am scheduled to see a hand expert in June but I am worried that he will just say the same thing that hasn't really solved the issue so far (rest and exercise) and my ability to go back to living my life normally hangs in the balance.
2024.05.08 21:34 Common-Beyond-7920 Looking for something new
Hey guys, ill try to keep it short as much as it is possible. Im looking for something new in crpg, something that will keep me occupied for longer, hopefully.
Modern, fantasy, medieval, mercenaries, isometric, turn based or active pause, open world. If possible, nothing in space, futuristic, steampunk, no spy/stealth, no "retro" or pixelart, nothing japanese, nothing weirdly stylized. Graphically, I like more realistic look, at least as much as it is possible.
I will put list of games i played and enjoyed and those im not interested.
Played/Loved:
EDIT: PC PLEASE, FORGOT TO MENTION IT
submitted by Common-Beyond-7920 to rpg_gamers [link] [comments]
Modern, fantasy, medieval, mercenaries, isometric, turn based or active pause, open world. If possible, nothing in space, futuristic, steampunk, no spy/stealth, no "retro" or pixelart, nothing japanese, nothing weirdly stylized. Graphically, I like more realistic look, at least as much as it is possible.
I will put list of games i played and enjoyed and those im not interested.
Played/Loved:
- Mass Effect Series
- Dragon Age series
- Fallout series
- Baldur's Gate series
- Icewind Dale series
- Wasteland series
- Icewind Dale series
- Jagged Alliance series
- Temple of Elemental Evil- Pathfinder series
- Pillars of Eternity series
- WH40K: Rogue Trader
- The Elder Scrolls series
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Series
- Vampire: The Masquerade series
- XCOM series
- ATOM series
- Wartales
- Neverwinter series
- Silent Storm series
- Final Fantasy (psone era)
- Koudelka
- Vagrant Story
- Dark Messiah: Might and Magic
- Parasite Eve series
- Aliens: Dark Descent
- Expeditions series
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance series
- Dead State
- Empire of Sin
- Planescape series
- Arcanum
- Divinity series
- Gothic series
- Shadowrun series
- Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader
- Arx Fatalis
- Hard West series
- Diablo series
- Mount and Blade series
- Dungeon Siege series
- Deus Ex series
- Ultima series
- Might and Magic series
- Tyranny
- Drakensang series
- Nox
- Legend of Grimrock series
- Syndicate series
- Classified: France 44
- Commandos series
- Darkest Dungeon series
- Xenonauts series
- The Banner Saga
EDIT: PC PLEASE, FORGOT TO MENTION IT
2024.05.08 03:30 AutoModerator The link between Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction, Hard Flaccid Syndrome, Post Finasteride Syndrome, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome and advice on how to start your healing journey based on 8 years of research and personal experiences by easyflaccid
The link between Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction, Hard Flaccid Syndrome, Post Finasteride Syndrome, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome and advice on how to start your healing journey based on 8 years of research and personal experiences : pssdhealing (reddit.com)
Here are all my thoughts and advice based on my personal experiences, other people’s insight and helpful experiences, and research I have done on and off about pelvic floor issues from the past eight years or so. I am not claiming that any of this is revolutionary, but I hope it can help some of you out there to give you a head start on healing and advance our understanding of these conditions. As I am a 27 year old male with previous major problems with pelvic floor issues and hard flaccid, some of my advice may be biased towards my condition. However, I believe everyone can benefit from a lot of this because I really do think that all of these conditions that I mentioned are linked in at least some way, especially by pelvic floor dysfunction and sex hormone desensitization. I try not to come to these forums because it increases anxiety and negative emotions which leads to worse pelvic floor symptoms, so my apologies if I do not respond to your questions. For hard flaccid and pelvic floor affected people, follow my advice and I am confident you can heal and reach a place where your symptoms barely affect your life, if at all, which is where I am at now. The mentality of trying to find a 100% “magic cure” solution just leads to anxiety and catastrophic thinking if you have a set back which will only worsen your symptoms. You can and will heal. I know this is a lot of information, but try to implement just one or two things at a time. Focus on the present, and take it one day at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed. All of this is my opinion and not professional medical advice. Talk with your doctor before starting anything.
Post Finasteride Syndrome (PFS), Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), Hard Flaccid Syndrome (HFS), Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, and Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome all can have some similar symptoms. I believe that they are all either caused or can be exacerbated by androgen and estrogen receptor insensitivity and are triggered by medication, genital injury, and pelvic floor inflammation and dysfunction. The pelvic floor is rich in androgen receptors and estrogen receptors. However, without proper androgen receptor activation and sensitivity, the pelvic floor muscles don’t have enough DHT which line the tissues of the pelvic floor, genitalia, and lower urinary tract. DHT is vital for healthy sexual functioning in both sexes - it provides an anabolic effect to tissues to provide strength, stability, healing, and relaxation to tissues. As a result of androgen receptor insensitivity and lack of DHT, the pelvic floor can become chronically weakened, tight, and inflamed which reduces blood flow to the region leading to even more androgen receptor insensitivity and thus less DHT. These symptoms can cause psychological stress to the individual which tightens the pelvic floor further leading to more symptoms and less blood flow. One study found that androgen sensitivity has raised the possibility that androgens can be used to rebuild the weakened and/or damaged muscles comprising the pelvic floor - source. Some people may also have normal hormone levels in the blood when tested, but these hormones cannot reach or be effective in the pelvic floor tissues or brain due to sex hormone insensitivity and the lack of the blood flow in the region caused by pelvic floor tightness and dysfunction. It is also likely that there is a problem with desensitized estrogen receptors causing a similar mechanism of dysfunction because they are also found in the pelvic floor, genitals, and brain and are important for pelvic floor health, sexual functioning, cognition, and emotions in both sexes. The most important element to remember to help start the healing process for these disorders is to boost blood flow through supplements, stretches, and exercises which will increase both androgen and estrogen receptor sensitivity over time.
Many males with PFS, PSSD, and Pelvic Floor dysfunction are affected by the hard flaccid condition.
Post Finasteride Syndrome (PFS) caused by Finasteride, a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor (5-ARI), plummets DHT levels in the body to try to help hair loss causing sexual dysfunction and pelvic floor issues. Androgen receptors that surround the pelvic floor, genitals, and brain become desensitized due to the Finasteride leading to less DHT binding to these receptors causing dysfunction and a tight, weak pelvic floor. The tight, dysfunctional pelvic floor now restricts blood flow which impacts healing and the delivery of testosterone to this area that further exacerbates androgen insensitivity leading to less DHT in these tissues. Since androgen receptors are found in the brain and androgens have neuroprotective effects, this could be one reason why some PFS and PSSD sufferers are also impacted cognitively. An herbal supplement called Saw Palmetto has also been reported to cause a disorder similar to PFS because it is also a 5-ARI that blocks the conversion of testosterone into DHT. Another disorder called Post Accutane Syndrome (PAS) is also similar to PFS and it reduces DHT as well through being a 5-ARI: “Isotretinoin, used to treat severe acne, has been shown to induce hormonal changes, especially to reduce 5 alpha-reductase in the production of the tissue-derived dihydrotestosterone (DHT) metabolite 3 alpha-Adiol G.”. PFS, PAS, and PSSD are thought to cause not only androgen receptor desensitization, but likely estrogen receptor desensitization as well.
For Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), SSRIs are also known to decrease androgens and down regulate androgen receptors. This study shows that SSRIs can have an anti-estrogenic effect as well and can even reduce the expression of estrogen receptors (ER), including in the hypothalamus.. As sex hormones get desensitized in the pelvic floor, genital region, and brain, it causes localized DHT and estrogen levels in these tissues to decrease causing emotional blunting, sexual dysfunction, pelvic floor issues, hard flaccid syndrome, and more. The pelvic floor dysfunction can then prevent the sex hormone receptors from being reactivated and sensitized due to restricting oxygen and sex hormone rich blood flow to the tissues. SSRIs can cause androgen receptor insensitivity and estrogen receptor insensitivity by severely inhibiting the serotonin transporter (SERT) leading to increased serotonin levels which desensitizes those receptors throughout the body. One key to help heal from PSSD is increasing androgen production, androgen receptor sensitivity, and blood flow to boost BDNF, SERT, and DHT levels to hopefully allow any estrogen receptor desensitization recover on its own over time after everything else is normalized. Once androgen levels in local tissues (pelvic floor, brain, genitals) are normalized again through androgen receptor activation and sensitivity, it will encourage the conversion of androgens into estrogens in these tissues via aromatase. It is also worth to mention that some community members are trying to restore estrogen receptor sensitivity via boosting estrogen in various ways including by taking hops extract which is a potent phytoestrogen. This is also interesting: Estradiol represents another important natural ligand for androgen receptors that may play an essential role for the androgen receptor function and the development of the male reproductive system.
As mentioned earlier, people with PSSD and other disorders might have normal looking hormone blood tests (testosterone, DHT, estrogen, etc), but the issue is that these hormones are not functioning in the brain, pelvic floor, and genitals properly due to androgen and estrogen receptor insensitivity. An important thing to also recognize is that the medical community still has no official explanation how exactly SSRIs cause all of these debilitating side effects, but they are still being readily prescribed without informed consent about the risks of PSSD. It is unfortunate that it is people like us on the internet leading the charge to investigate and inform. We all need to continue to do our part to spread awareness of these iatrogenic disorders to warn people about the risks of taking these medications because their medical providers aren’t likely going to. Thank you to the PSSD Network for helping to give a voice to the unheard.
Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD): Biological Plausibility, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Presumed Risk Factors
Androgen receptor (AR) inactivation in mice led to reduction in hypothalamic neural nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), indicating the regulatory sexual function of this neurotransmitter. Furthermore, activation of the pre and post-synaptic 5HT1A receptors was found to be correlated with inhibitory effect on erectile function. All of these factors are speculated to be involved in this symptom and might be related to epigenetic alteration of androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER) densities due to influence of SSRIs on the epigenome.
In male PSSD sufferers, the penile shaft can be rigid during erection, yet the glans of the penis remains flaccid.This symptom may arise from hypo-activation of the dopaminergic and oxytocinergic pathways. The glans of the penis, in particular, receives its blood supply from the deep dorsal artery. Perhaps this points to a selective arterial malfunction relative to pelvic floor dysfunction which usually accompanies PSSD.
Here is another interesting study that gives support to the importance of increasing blood flow to help heal:
If SSRIs produce sexual side effects by impairing vasocongestion to the genital region, it would be expected that pharmacologic agents that increase blood flow to the genital region would improve sexual functioning. Indeed, several anecdotal reports and studies have found that sildenafil (a drug designed to treat erectile failure by increasing blood flow into the penile tissue) was successful in reversing SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction in both men and women [8,9,87,88,109]. Sildenafil acts to increase blood flow into the genital tissue by facilitating c-GMP activity that is initiated by nitric oxide [19] and preliminary evidence suggests that the SSRIs may cause sexual difficulties by inhibiting nitric oxide synthase [39,118].
Here is a paper from a community member that hypothesizes that the main issue is lasting estrogen receptor insensitivity just to give another interesting perspective on Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction, Post-Finasteride Syndrome, and Post-Retinoid Sexual Dysfunction
As the body is starved of DHT, ARs upregulate in response. At the same time, ER activation is significantly increased as a result of the increased production of Estradiol during treatment (due to higher Testosterone availability by reduced 5a reduction to DHT) - eventually leading to ER downregulation.
Hard Flaccid Syndrome (HFS) - There are many men suffering from HFS and pelvic floor issues due to PSSD, PFS, heavy weight lifting, excess kegeling, or in the case I’m presenting here, physical damage to the genitals from excessive, vigorous sexual activity (my case) or penis enlargement exercises. When the genitals get damaged, an inflammatory process starts and the pelvic floor contracts to protect itself. Since the pelvic floor is now in a chronic, contracted state, it limits oxygen and sex hormone rich blood flow to the genitals and pelvic floor which leads to sex hormone insensitivity and negatively impacts healing, muscle relaxation, and DHT production in these tissues. Finasteride, Accutane, and SSRIs also desensitize sex hormone receptors in the genitals and pelvic floor tissues leading to hard flaccid and pelvic floor dysfunction. Since the pelvic floor tightness restricts blood flow, it is difficult for hard flaccid sufferers to reactivate and sensitize their pelvic floor muscle androgen receptors again to regain relaxation and strength in their pelvic floor muscles, including the ischiocavernosus (IC), bulbocavernosus (BC), and pubococcygeus (PC) which are in a contracted state; the IC muscle in particular is thought to be the most implicated in the cause of hard flaccid. We first need to promote relaxation in the pelvic floor by boosting blood flow through supplements and stretches because tight muscles are weak muscles. Once the pelvic floor is in a chronic state of tension, it is hard to heal from pelvic floor issues because you likely already had bad habits such as poor posture, unhealthy sexual practices, stiff muscles, sedentary lifestyle, unchecked anxiety, and other negative lifestyle factors. Along with supplements, exercises, and stretches, correcting these bad habits is necessary to heal to have an even healthier pelvic floor than you ever had before because it likely was already tight and dysfunctional to begin with before developing obvious issues, but it was more subtle and you had no awareness of your pelvic floor muscles until now. You have the potential to now become a much healthier person overall than you ever would have been without being affected by pelvic floor dysfunction and hard flaccid.
32% of women will develop a pelvic floor disorder in their lifetime which is double that of men. While childbirth and pregnancy plays a role in this discrepancy, women also have far less testosterone and DHT levels than men which I believe plays a major factor. Since women have less testosterone, their androgen receptors that line the pelvic floor don’t make enough DHT to adequately support these tissues compared to men. This makes them more prone to pelvic floor dysfunction that causes them a disparate amount of pain, tightness, and inflammation. Androgen receptors and their ability to convert testosterone into DHT play such a vital role in pelvic floor health and sexual functioning. This is mentioned in a research study: Prevailing scientific literature has indicated the presence of androgen receptors in the levator ani muscle and pelvic fascia. The existence of androgen receptors in the vaginal wall can play an essential role in the development of pelvic floor disorders in women.Thus, androgen-related disorders may interfere with the function of pelvic floor muscles. [Many people mistakenly believe that androgens are only important for male sexual health:](https://www.bumc.bu.edu/sexualmedicine/patientinformation-physicians/androgen-insuffiency-in-women/#:~:text=Androgen%20insufficiency%20syndrome%2C%20characterized%20by,of%20sexual%20dysfunction%20in%20women.] Androgens have a three-fold action on female sexual function. They (1) increase libido by providing the fuel for a woman’s psychosexual stimulation, (2) increase sensitivity and blood flow to the external genitalia, and (3) increase the intensity of sexual gratification.
What I see in all these conditions is that sex hormone receptors become desensitized in the pelvic floor and genital tissues either from a drug, pelvic tightness, or inflammation from injury leading to less hormones being produced causing sexual and pelvic floor dysfunction. The pelvic floor now goes into a chronic tightened state as a response, leading to less oxygen and testosterone rich blood flow to the genital and pelvic region which leads to more androgen insensitivity and subsequently less DHT. This all explains why many people who have these conditions are helped by supplements that improve androgen receptor sensitivity and blood flow, and why pelvic floor therapy and exercises are so helpful to many of them. Estrogen receptor insensitivity in the pelvic floor also appears to have a similar mechanical negative effect by leading to less estrogen levels in the pelvic floor and genital tissues. It is also possible that some people with PSSD/PFS may have subtle or no pelvic floor symptoms, but the medication still desensitizes sex hormone sensitivity in their genitals and pelvic floor tissues that is leading to sexual dysfunction.
Another study linking androgens and the pelvic floor: Levator ani and other muscles of the pelvic floor and lower urinary tract are sensitive to the anabolic effects of testosterone. Androgen receptors are also expressed in the pelvic floor and lower urinary tract of both animals and humans. Anabolic effects of androgens may play an important role in the female pelvic-floor and lower-urinary-tract disorders. Furthermore, the interactions between androgen and nitric oxide synthase and arginase have been demonstrated, suggesting that androgens may also participate in modulating the physiological functions of the lower urinary tract through nitric oxide. The action of androgens in the lower urinary tract and pelvic floor is complex and may depend on their anabolic effects, hormonal modulation, receptor expression, interaction with nitric oxide synthase, or a combination of these effects.
My solution to help heal and improve the well-being of people with these issues is to try to improve sex hormone receptor sensitivity and pelvic floor function through supplements, stretches, exercises, and boosting blood flow which will hopefully restore normal levels of estrogens and androgens in pelvic, genital, and brain tissues. The body has a tremendous capability of self-healing, but we need to support it through active recovery methods.
We will first start with supplements (this is not professional medical advice - talk with your doctor before taking):
L-citrulline - This is the precursor to l-arginine, and it will improve blood flow and levels of nitric oxide to help get oxygen and testosterone rich blood to the pelvic floor and genital tissues to increase androgen sensitivity. Nitric oxide can also induce smooth muscle relaxation which is important for relaxing the pelvic floor. Herein we report on a young man affected by PSSD who regained sexual functioning after 3-month treatment with EDOVIS, a dietary supplement containing L-citrulline and other commonly used aphrodisiacs.. I recommend taking at least 6000 mg daily by taking 2000mg three times throughout the day. The max dose is 10,000mg. Even potentially better, people report great results using Cialis to improve blood flow and healing rather than L-citrulline and some doctors will even prescribe it to women if you show them the evidence - talk with your doctor. “Tadalafil (Cialis) reversal of sexual dysfunction caused by serotonin enhancing medications in women”. L-Citrulline and Cialis are not recommended to be taken together.
L-Carnitine - This will improve the number of androgen receptors and their sensitivity to testosterone to increase levels of DHT in the pelvic floor, genital tissues, and brain. I recommend taking 2000mg daily. Acetyl-L-Carnitine can pass through the blood-brain barrier, while Propionyl-L-carnitine has a high degree of interaction with testosterone. Propionyl may be better for sexual and pelvic floor dysfunction, while Acetyl might help people suffering from the mental effects of PSSD. This study used each at 2000mg daily to improve erectile dysfunction along with Viagra.. I would work up to 2000mg each of Acetyl and Propionyl L-Carnitine along with Cialis instead of Viagra as it lasts in the body for much longer (36 hours) for increased blood flow healing purposes. You can also use L-Citrulline instead of Cialis as mentioned earlier. Discuss with your doctor before taking them.
Vitamin D - This vitamin, which acts more like a hormone, works directly with the endocrine system. It has its own receptors throughout the body and they are often in close proximity to androgen receptors. Deficiency in vitamin D is associated with a stunting of testosterone's effects on androgen receptors and a decline in testosterone levels. Vitamin D will encourage androgen receptor resensitization. One study found that higher vitamin D levels are associated with a decreased risk of pelvic floor disorders in women, and The levator ani and coccygeus muscles are skeletal muscles that are critical components of the pelvic floor and may be affected by vitamin D nutritional status. I recommend 4000IU of vitamin D daily or whatever gets your levels to 60 - 80 ng/ml.
If you have inflammatory issues or pain due to pelvic floor dysfunction, I recommend a fish oil supplement daily. I take fish oil, and I find that it helps limit pelvic inflammation. I also take Magnesium Glycinate to relax the smooth muscle that lines the pelvic floor and genital tissue. I recommend it for people with clear pelvic floor dysfunction, but others should be careful as research says magnesium is a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor. Take quercetin and bromelain as needed if you experience pelvic inflammatory flare ups and pain, but just be careful as quercetin can also inhibit the production of DHT from testosterone as well. Some say fish oil blocks DHT too, but experiencing chronic pelvic floor pain and inflammation will do more harm to you than minimal DHT blocking. I recommend staying away from all DHT inhibiting foods and supplements for people with PSSD, PFS, and PAS unless you are experiencing pelvic pain and inflammation.
As always, discuss these supplements with your doctor to see if they are okay for you. Lower your supplement intake based on side effects. These aren’t a magic cure, but a tool to help you on your journey to recovery. Don’t do anything without doctor supervision, but this thread gives more evidence for the “cure” for PSSD/PFS being resensitizing androgen receptors and estrogen receptors along with enhancing blood flow as it details how some men recovered through taking high doses of androgens, post cycle therapy, and Cialis. This at least gives hope that a hormonal cure can be created one day by medical professionals. I would of course recommend trying to heal yourself naturally for a long time before doing any hormone treatments under the supervision of a doctor.
I also recommend doing some form of yoga or pelvic floor stretches daily to improve blood flow for pelvic floor relaxation and sex hormone receptor sensitivity. You also need to request to see a pelvic floor therapist for an evaluation and treatment. Learn how to do reverse kegels. Doing reverse kegels will be difficult at first because your pelvic floor is tight and you have little to no awareness of these muscles, so just focus on lengthening and relaxing the pelvic floor through stretches for now. Do not do regular kegels for pelvic floor issues. Learn how to diaphragmatically breathe in 360 degrees to create expansion in your rib cage and abdomen to encourage pelvic floor relaxation. Do not breathe through your chest, and “belly breathing” isn’t the right term because the ribs need to expand as well. You can learn how to diaphragmatically breathe through an exercise such as 4-7-8 breathing. Here is a great video on diaphragmatic breathing and another video. I cannot overstate it enough: retraining yourself to properly breathe diaphragmatically is the single most important thing that you can do to heal from pelvic floor issues. Be a student of breathing: study and take notes on how to breathe better.
Stretches/Yoga poses I recommend:
Hold the Malasana/hindi/yoga squat pose for at least 5-10 minutes at least twice a day, but doing it morning, mid-day, and at night would be the best. Some get great results holding it for 15-20 minutes.This is one of the most important things for your pelvic floor because it will help lengthen and release it. Doing them barefoot is also very beneficial to strengthen your ankles and feet which are connected to your pelvic floor. Again, remember to breathe deeply down into your belly and pelvic floor for all these stretches.
Begin your stretching routine with an Exercise ball ab stretch and Upward-facing dog/cobra pose. This will help stretch your lower abs and psoas muscles so that you can get more breath deeper down into your pelvic floor for the rest of your stretches. Some people say that these types of stretches aren’t great for people who have Anterior Pelvic Tilt, which we should fix, but I still do them as it is important to stretch the lower abs that are hard to get to. You can experiment with doing them sporadically instead of every time you stretch.
This is my current personal complete stretch routine I do in order 3+ days a week:
Myofascial release on my glutes with an orb massage ball but you can use any small hard ball (don’t do this if glutes are currently sore) > Calf stretch against a wall or a yoga block which is what I use > exercise ball ab stretch > upward facing dog > (optional) Do a handful of cat cows > Supine hamstring stretch with yoga strap or an IdealStretch tool which is what I use > Kneeling hip flexor stretch > flat on back supine single knee to chest stretch > then bring knee to opposite shoulder stretch > supine figure four > I do this stretch next right after figure four > Reclined bound angle pose > (optional) butterfly stretch > (optional) A little bit of downward facing dog to stretch the calves > (optional) Lizard Pose) > (optional) Half split stretch/Half monkey pose with yoga blocks > Half-pigeon pose > Child’s pose > Wall quad hip flexor stretch > Wall figure four stretch > Wall straddle pose > Wall happy baby pose > Flat on back while pulling knees apart > kneeling with one leg, other leg out to side for adductors > (optional) Frog pose with feet together > regular Frog pose with feet separated in line with the knees > Yoga squat/malasana > Corpse pose
All these stretches are the ones I found most useful in a routine. See what works for you and develop your own routine. Consistency is the most important. This long stretching routine may not be possible for you to complete regularly so make adjustments, but doing this routine at least 3 days a week is ideal. Stretches such as the yoga squat, supine hamstring stretch, hip flexor stretches, and wall stretches are vital and should be done most days to help relax the pelvic floor. For how long you should hold each stretch, just go by how you and your body feels. Really let go, breathe, and sink into every stretch. On rest days, doing some deep breathing in child’s pose, reclined bound angle pose, flat on back while pulling knees apart, and the happy baby wall pose is really great while trying to do gentle reverse kegels.
You can also work on more individualized stretches for posture to correct anterior pelvic tilt, muscle imbalances, and to release other tight muscles, such as the upper body. Listen to your body if you need to give yourself a rest day from stretching. Adding in a 30-60 minute walk/swim on rest days is incredibly beneficial as well. Eventually, you can also try to learn isometric PNF stretching to incorporate it into some of the stretches such as the kneeling hip flexor stretch and hamstring stretch.
After working to relax and lengthen your pelvic floor through yoga and stretches, I would begin gentle body strengthening exercises that are pelvic floor safe. The pelvic floor is a master compensator. So, if the glutes, adductors, deep hip rotators, transversus abdominis, and other supportive muscles are weak, then the pelvic floor is in the prime position to pick up the slack which leads to a lot of strain on the pelvic floor which results in tightness and dysfunction. You need to strengthen the surrounding muscles to relieve tightness in the pelvic floor. This is where working with a pelvic floor therapist would be helpful to point out safe individualized exercises for you. Yoga will help strengthen your muscles in a safe way too.
The glutes and transversus abdominis in particular are very important to strengthen. Glute bridge, single glute bridge, side lying leg raises, lateral band walks can help build up glute strength. Deadbugs, Bird Dog, 8- point planks, or planks with pelvic floor-friendly modifications, can help to strengthen the transversus abdominis (TVA). Abdominal work may be triggering to your pelvic floor symptoms, especially the 8 point plank, so you can instead look into hypopressive exercises to work the TVA without overworking the pelvic floor. These exercises will help you bring more awareness to your breathing, diaphragm, TVA, and pelvic floor which are all important for recovery. Here is how to find and become aware of the TVA. Do side planks for your oblique ab muscles.
For hip/abductors do the side lying hip abduction exercise, fire hydrants, and the shinbox lunge. For the adductors, do Copenhagen adductor exercise, cossack squats, and an exercise where you squeeze a soft ball between the knees just don’t do any crunch movements with pelvic floor issues. For hamstrings, Nordic hamstring curl/glute ham raises, and single leg bridge. For the back, do supine pelvic tilt. One person even reported that dorsiflexion exercises and stretches were one important element to solve his pelvic floor issues; this is most likely because the ankle bone, like everything else including even our jaw, is connected to the pelvic floor.
Like with anything, do all these exercises in moderation and stop if you sense your pelvic floor is not responding well to them - do them one at a time to see which ones your pelvic floor can handle for now. Here is an exercise routine from another poster that has helped many people. Just be careful of the ab exercises such as the ab wheel and 5 minute planks with your pelvic floor issues - don’t over do it or avoid it if they cause too many symptoms.
Myofascial release and foam rolling to release trigger points also helps a lot of people to relax their pelvic floor muscles and improve blood flow. The glutes are the most important area to target for pelvic floor issues when foam rolling in my experience if you only had limited time. Using a soft ball to lay on and breathe deeply can help release trigger points in the abdominal muscles and psoas which can help you breathe better and relax the pelvic floor. I haven’t done it, but you can also try out a massage gun for myofascial release; just be careful and don’t use it in sensitive pelvic areas. Some men and women also report success using a therawand to release internal trigger points that are causing them pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms.
Walking and swimming for 30-60 minutes are some of the best exercises to lengthen, relax, stretch, and release your pelvic floor, boost blood flow, and help to retain and build strength in muscles that give support to the pelvic floor. Walk or swim for 5+ days a week for the best results. The breaststroke and freestyle are very helpful for pelvic floor sufferers. Along with swimming, people also use an elliptical at a low resistance to help provide a cardio workout that is safer for your pelvic floor.
Fix your posture. Pelvic floor issues and hard flaccid syndrome are closely associated with Anterior Pelvic Tilt and other postural issues. Get evaluated by a physical therapist so that they can give you exercises and stretches to fix it. You could also look into the Postural Restoration institute and see one of their providers and try to implement some of their exercises. In the meantime, here is one video playlist on how to fix APT. Another video to fix APT says to stretch the hip flexors, lower back, while focusing on strengthening the abs, glutes, and hamstrings. Make sure that you sit and walk with good posture - watch this to learn how to walk correctly - activate your glutes during each step and push off with your back foot!. I also recommend getting a standing desk to try to avoid sitting for long periods of time.
Weight training can be effective for boosting active androgen receptors in the body to increase testosterone and DHT levels. However, you need to make sure that it isn’t making your pelvic floor symptoms worse which defeats the purpose. If you are going to lift weights with pelvic floor issues, don’t lift heavy, do any intensive ab workouts, or any other exercises that can put extra strain on your pelvic floor. Do lifts where you can sit down instead of standing up. Start with yoga, stretching, and gentle body exercises to relax your pelvic floor and strengthen surrounding muscles before incorporating consistent weight training. I highly recommend, however, just sticking with yoga and pelvic floor safe body weight exercises to build strength instead. Those with PSSD without pelvic floor dysfunction may benefit a lot from lifting weights, high-intensity interval training, and doing bodyweight exercises such as squats regularly to boost androgen receptors and DHT. Remember to see a pelvic floor therapist to get evaluated first before starting any weight lifting because many people have pelvic floor issues without even realizing it.
Work on your mental health. Anxiety can worsen pelvic floor issues. Just as dogs tuck and tense their tails when stressed, we tense our pelvic floors which are directly connected to our tailbone where we used to have tails ourselves in our evolutionary history. As we are impacted by sexual dysfunction and pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms, we become anxious along with other negative emotions which leads to more pelvic floor tension symptoms due to the fight or flight mode response causing even more anxiety leading to more symptoms. It is a vicious cycle that needs to break by not becoming anxious and negative when we experience pelvic floor symptoms or hard flaccid and instead let go, accept, and realize that it is a normal process when trying to heal because sometimes our muscles that are used to that tightness don't want to let go of the tension we hold in our pelvic floors. Daily yoga, meditation, stretching, and walking will help with anxiety. I would also see a mental health therapist because all of these issues are deeply traumatic and we cannot go through this alone. We often hold tension in the form of emotions and trauma in our bodies, especially our pelvic floor and genital areas. By openly talking about these issues with a therapist, it will help us process and release our emotions and trauma that we are holding inside our bodies to improve our anxiety, relax our pelvic floor, and to let go of all of our tension. Many people who healed their hard flaccid and pelvic floor issues said that solving their anxiety and negative thoughts by talking to a mental health counselor was vital in recovery. The mind-body connection is so powerful, and it directly impacts our pelvic floor. Those who are stuck in the cycle of experiencing pelvic floor symptoms leading to anxiety and negative thoughts will also benefit from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy you can do by yourself like in this video or preferably with a trained therapist. Here is an informative mini lecture on how stress impacts the pelvic floor.
I would also definitely go on a healthy anti-inflammatory diet. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, marijuana, and other substances. Avoid foods and liquids that can trigger pelvic floor inflammation such as highly acidic fruits and veggies, carbonated beverages, very spicy foods, and artificial sugars. To maintain a healthy gut to reduce inflammation in your body I recommend trying a low-histamine probiotic supplement along with eating healthy. You should also work on preventing or fixing constipation; eat a lot of soluble fiber to not get constipated - take a supplement such as metamucil if you have to. Check the Bristol stool shape chart to identify if you are constipated because even mild constipation can contribute to pelvic floor tension. This is because the constipation leads to a lot of pressure being put on your rectum and pelvic floor leading to the muscles becoming weak and dysfunctional. I am willing to bet many of you are constipated and don’t know it because it isn’t just whether you go regularly, it is also how your stool is shaped. People with pelvic floor disorders are at a high risk of constipation which makes their tension and dysfunction worse which then worsens the constipation, another cycle to fix. I recommend getting a Squatty Potty to reduce strain on the pelvic floor during elimination.
To help heal hard flaccid and pelvic floor issues, never watch pornography again (this is vital). Go on NoFap for 90+ days to help heal your brain and body from any unhealthy pornography and sexual habits you have partaken in. Pornography leads to involuntary kegels, a tight pelvic floor, desensitizes you, and messes up the dopamine and arousal circuitry in your brain. Don’t climax too often. Learn how to reverse kegel by yourself and during sexual activities. Never edge or regular kegel - it leads to pelvic floor tightness and dysfunction - just relax your arousal through a reverse kegel. Keep your pelvic floor relaxed during sexual activities.
Stay strong and never give up. You will heal. Thank you for reading.
submitted by AutoModerator to PSSD [link] [comments]
Here are all my thoughts and advice based on my personal experiences, other people’s insight and helpful experiences, and research I have done on and off about pelvic floor issues from the past eight years or so. I am not claiming that any of this is revolutionary, but I hope it can help some of you out there to give you a head start on healing and advance our understanding of these conditions. As I am a 27 year old male with previous major problems with pelvic floor issues and hard flaccid, some of my advice may be biased towards my condition. However, I believe everyone can benefit from a lot of this because I really do think that all of these conditions that I mentioned are linked in at least some way, especially by pelvic floor dysfunction and sex hormone desensitization. I try not to come to these forums because it increases anxiety and negative emotions which leads to worse pelvic floor symptoms, so my apologies if I do not respond to your questions. For hard flaccid and pelvic floor affected people, follow my advice and I am confident you can heal and reach a place where your symptoms barely affect your life, if at all, which is where I am at now. The mentality of trying to find a 100% “magic cure” solution just leads to anxiety and catastrophic thinking if you have a set back which will only worsen your symptoms. You can and will heal. I know this is a lot of information, but try to implement just one or two things at a time. Focus on the present, and take it one day at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed. All of this is my opinion and not professional medical advice. Talk with your doctor before starting anything.
Post Finasteride Syndrome (PFS), Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), Hard Flaccid Syndrome (HFS), Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, and Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome all can have some similar symptoms. I believe that they are all either caused or can be exacerbated by androgen and estrogen receptor insensitivity and are triggered by medication, genital injury, and pelvic floor inflammation and dysfunction. The pelvic floor is rich in androgen receptors and estrogen receptors. However, without proper androgen receptor activation and sensitivity, the pelvic floor muscles don’t have enough DHT which line the tissues of the pelvic floor, genitalia, and lower urinary tract. DHT is vital for healthy sexual functioning in both sexes - it provides an anabolic effect to tissues to provide strength, stability, healing, and relaxation to tissues. As a result of androgen receptor insensitivity and lack of DHT, the pelvic floor can become chronically weakened, tight, and inflamed which reduces blood flow to the region leading to even more androgen receptor insensitivity and thus less DHT. These symptoms can cause psychological stress to the individual which tightens the pelvic floor further leading to more symptoms and less blood flow. One study found that androgen sensitivity has raised the possibility that androgens can be used to rebuild the weakened and/or damaged muscles comprising the pelvic floor - source. Some people may also have normal hormone levels in the blood when tested, but these hormones cannot reach or be effective in the pelvic floor tissues or brain due to sex hormone insensitivity and the lack of the blood flow in the region caused by pelvic floor tightness and dysfunction. It is also likely that there is a problem with desensitized estrogen receptors causing a similar mechanism of dysfunction because they are also found in the pelvic floor, genitals, and brain and are important for pelvic floor health, sexual functioning, cognition, and emotions in both sexes. The most important element to remember to help start the healing process for these disorders is to boost blood flow through supplements, stretches, and exercises which will increase both androgen and estrogen receptor sensitivity over time.
Many males with PFS, PSSD, and Pelvic Floor dysfunction are affected by the hard flaccid condition.
Post Finasteride Syndrome (PFS) caused by Finasteride, a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor (5-ARI), plummets DHT levels in the body to try to help hair loss causing sexual dysfunction and pelvic floor issues. Androgen receptors that surround the pelvic floor, genitals, and brain become desensitized due to the Finasteride leading to less DHT binding to these receptors causing dysfunction and a tight, weak pelvic floor. The tight, dysfunctional pelvic floor now restricts blood flow which impacts healing and the delivery of testosterone to this area that further exacerbates androgen insensitivity leading to less DHT in these tissues. Since androgen receptors are found in the brain and androgens have neuroprotective effects, this could be one reason why some PFS and PSSD sufferers are also impacted cognitively. An herbal supplement called Saw Palmetto has also been reported to cause a disorder similar to PFS because it is also a 5-ARI that blocks the conversion of testosterone into DHT. Another disorder called Post Accutane Syndrome (PAS) is also similar to PFS and it reduces DHT as well through being a 5-ARI: “Isotretinoin, used to treat severe acne, has been shown to induce hormonal changes, especially to reduce 5 alpha-reductase in the production of the tissue-derived dihydrotestosterone (DHT) metabolite 3 alpha-Adiol G.”. PFS, PAS, and PSSD are thought to cause not only androgen receptor desensitization, but likely estrogen receptor desensitization as well.
For Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD), SSRIs are also known to decrease androgens and down regulate androgen receptors. This study shows that SSRIs can have an anti-estrogenic effect as well and can even reduce the expression of estrogen receptors (ER), including in the hypothalamus.. As sex hormones get desensitized in the pelvic floor, genital region, and brain, it causes localized DHT and estrogen levels in these tissues to decrease causing emotional blunting, sexual dysfunction, pelvic floor issues, hard flaccid syndrome, and more. The pelvic floor dysfunction can then prevent the sex hormone receptors from being reactivated and sensitized due to restricting oxygen and sex hormone rich blood flow to the tissues. SSRIs can cause androgen receptor insensitivity and estrogen receptor insensitivity by severely inhibiting the serotonin transporter (SERT) leading to increased serotonin levels which desensitizes those receptors throughout the body. One key to help heal from PSSD is increasing androgen production, androgen receptor sensitivity, and blood flow to boost BDNF, SERT, and DHT levels to hopefully allow any estrogen receptor desensitization recover on its own over time after everything else is normalized. Once androgen levels in local tissues (pelvic floor, brain, genitals) are normalized again through androgen receptor activation and sensitivity, it will encourage the conversion of androgens into estrogens in these tissues via aromatase. It is also worth to mention that some community members are trying to restore estrogen receptor sensitivity via boosting estrogen in various ways including by taking hops extract which is a potent phytoestrogen. This is also interesting: Estradiol represents another important natural ligand for androgen receptors that may play an essential role for the androgen receptor function and the development of the male reproductive system.
As mentioned earlier, people with PSSD and other disorders might have normal looking hormone blood tests (testosterone, DHT, estrogen, etc), but the issue is that these hormones are not functioning in the brain, pelvic floor, and genitals properly due to androgen and estrogen receptor insensitivity. An important thing to also recognize is that the medical community still has no official explanation how exactly SSRIs cause all of these debilitating side effects, but they are still being readily prescribed without informed consent about the risks of PSSD. It is unfortunate that it is people like us on the internet leading the charge to investigate and inform. We all need to continue to do our part to spread awareness of these iatrogenic disorders to warn people about the risks of taking these medications because their medical providers aren’t likely going to. Thank you to the PSSD Network for helping to give a voice to the unheard.
Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD): Biological Plausibility, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Presumed Risk Factors
Androgen receptor (AR) inactivation in mice led to reduction in hypothalamic neural nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), indicating the regulatory sexual function of this neurotransmitter. Furthermore, activation of the pre and post-synaptic 5HT1A receptors was found to be correlated with inhibitory effect on erectile function. All of these factors are speculated to be involved in this symptom and might be related to epigenetic alteration of androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER) densities due to influence of SSRIs on the epigenome.
In male PSSD sufferers, the penile shaft can be rigid during erection, yet the glans of the penis remains flaccid.This symptom may arise from hypo-activation of the dopaminergic and oxytocinergic pathways. The glans of the penis, in particular, receives its blood supply from the deep dorsal artery. Perhaps this points to a selective arterial malfunction relative to pelvic floor dysfunction which usually accompanies PSSD.
Here is another interesting study that gives support to the importance of increasing blood flow to help heal:
If SSRIs produce sexual side effects by impairing vasocongestion to the genital region, it would be expected that pharmacologic agents that increase blood flow to the genital region would improve sexual functioning. Indeed, several anecdotal reports and studies have found that sildenafil (a drug designed to treat erectile failure by increasing blood flow into the penile tissue) was successful in reversing SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction in both men and women [8,9,87,88,109]. Sildenafil acts to increase blood flow into the genital tissue by facilitating c-GMP activity that is initiated by nitric oxide [19] and preliminary evidence suggests that the SSRIs may cause sexual difficulties by inhibiting nitric oxide synthase [39,118].
Here is a paper from a community member that hypothesizes that the main issue is lasting estrogen receptor insensitivity just to give another interesting perspective on Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction, Post-Finasteride Syndrome, and Post-Retinoid Sexual Dysfunction
As the body is starved of DHT, ARs upregulate in response. At the same time, ER activation is significantly increased as a result of the increased production of Estradiol during treatment (due to higher Testosterone availability by reduced 5a reduction to DHT) - eventually leading to ER downregulation.
Hard Flaccid Syndrome (HFS) - There are many men suffering from HFS and pelvic floor issues due to PSSD, PFS, heavy weight lifting, excess kegeling, or in the case I’m presenting here, physical damage to the genitals from excessive, vigorous sexual activity (my case) or penis enlargement exercises. When the genitals get damaged, an inflammatory process starts and the pelvic floor contracts to protect itself. Since the pelvic floor is now in a chronic, contracted state, it limits oxygen and sex hormone rich blood flow to the genitals and pelvic floor which leads to sex hormone insensitivity and negatively impacts healing, muscle relaxation, and DHT production in these tissues. Finasteride, Accutane, and SSRIs also desensitize sex hormone receptors in the genitals and pelvic floor tissues leading to hard flaccid and pelvic floor dysfunction. Since the pelvic floor tightness restricts blood flow, it is difficult for hard flaccid sufferers to reactivate and sensitize their pelvic floor muscle androgen receptors again to regain relaxation and strength in their pelvic floor muscles, including the ischiocavernosus (IC), bulbocavernosus (BC), and pubococcygeus (PC) which are in a contracted state; the IC muscle in particular is thought to be the most implicated in the cause of hard flaccid. We first need to promote relaxation in the pelvic floor by boosting blood flow through supplements and stretches because tight muscles are weak muscles. Once the pelvic floor is in a chronic state of tension, it is hard to heal from pelvic floor issues because you likely already had bad habits such as poor posture, unhealthy sexual practices, stiff muscles, sedentary lifestyle, unchecked anxiety, and other negative lifestyle factors. Along with supplements, exercises, and stretches, correcting these bad habits is necessary to heal to have an even healthier pelvic floor than you ever had before because it likely was already tight and dysfunctional to begin with before developing obvious issues, but it was more subtle and you had no awareness of your pelvic floor muscles until now. You have the potential to now become a much healthier person overall than you ever would have been without being affected by pelvic floor dysfunction and hard flaccid.
32% of women will develop a pelvic floor disorder in their lifetime which is double that of men. While childbirth and pregnancy plays a role in this discrepancy, women also have far less testosterone and DHT levels than men which I believe plays a major factor. Since women have less testosterone, their androgen receptors that line the pelvic floor don’t make enough DHT to adequately support these tissues compared to men. This makes them more prone to pelvic floor dysfunction that causes them a disparate amount of pain, tightness, and inflammation. Androgen receptors and their ability to convert testosterone into DHT play such a vital role in pelvic floor health and sexual functioning. This is mentioned in a research study: Prevailing scientific literature has indicated the presence of androgen receptors in the levator ani muscle and pelvic fascia. The existence of androgen receptors in the vaginal wall can play an essential role in the development of pelvic floor disorders in women.Thus, androgen-related disorders may interfere with the function of pelvic floor muscles. [Many people mistakenly believe that androgens are only important for male sexual health:](https://www.bumc.bu.edu/sexualmedicine/patientinformation-physicians/androgen-insuffiency-in-women/#:~:text=Androgen%20insufficiency%20syndrome%2C%20characterized%20by,of%20sexual%20dysfunction%20in%20women.] Androgens have a three-fold action on female sexual function. They (1) increase libido by providing the fuel for a woman’s psychosexual stimulation, (2) increase sensitivity and blood flow to the external genitalia, and (3) increase the intensity of sexual gratification.
What I see in all these conditions is that sex hormone receptors become desensitized in the pelvic floor and genital tissues either from a drug, pelvic tightness, or inflammation from injury leading to less hormones being produced causing sexual and pelvic floor dysfunction. The pelvic floor now goes into a chronic tightened state as a response, leading to less oxygen and testosterone rich blood flow to the genital and pelvic region which leads to more androgen insensitivity and subsequently less DHT. This all explains why many people who have these conditions are helped by supplements that improve androgen receptor sensitivity and blood flow, and why pelvic floor therapy and exercises are so helpful to many of them. Estrogen receptor insensitivity in the pelvic floor also appears to have a similar mechanical negative effect by leading to less estrogen levels in the pelvic floor and genital tissues. It is also possible that some people with PSSD/PFS may have subtle or no pelvic floor symptoms, but the medication still desensitizes sex hormone sensitivity in their genitals and pelvic floor tissues that is leading to sexual dysfunction.
Another study linking androgens and the pelvic floor: Levator ani and other muscles of the pelvic floor and lower urinary tract are sensitive to the anabolic effects of testosterone. Androgen receptors are also expressed in the pelvic floor and lower urinary tract of both animals and humans. Anabolic effects of androgens may play an important role in the female pelvic-floor and lower-urinary-tract disorders. Furthermore, the interactions between androgen and nitric oxide synthase and arginase have been demonstrated, suggesting that androgens may also participate in modulating the physiological functions of the lower urinary tract through nitric oxide. The action of androgens in the lower urinary tract and pelvic floor is complex and may depend on their anabolic effects, hormonal modulation, receptor expression, interaction with nitric oxide synthase, or a combination of these effects.
My solution to help heal and improve the well-being of people with these issues is to try to improve sex hormone receptor sensitivity and pelvic floor function through supplements, stretches, exercises, and boosting blood flow which will hopefully restore normal levels of estrogens and androgens in pelvic, genital, and brain tissues. The body has a tremendous capability of self-healing, but we need to support it through active recovery methods.
We will first start with supplements (this is not professional medical advice - talk with your doctor before taking):
L-citrulline - This is the precursor to l-arginine, and it will improve blood flow and levels of nitric oxide to help get oxygen and testosterone rich blood to the pelvic floor and genital tissues to increase androgen sensitivity. Nitric oxide can also induce smooth muscle relaxation which is important for relaxing the pelvic floor. Herein we report on a young man affected by PSSD who regained sexual functioning after 3-month treatment with EDOVIS, a dietary supplement containing L-citrulline and other commonly used aphrodisiacs.. I recommend taking at least 6000 mg daily by taking 2000mg three times throughout the day. The max dose is 10,000mg. Even potentially better, people report great results using Cialis to improve blood flow and healing rather than L-citrulline and some doctors will even prescribe it to women if you show them the evidence - talk with your doctor. “Tadalafil (Cialis) reversal of sexual dysfunction caused by serotonin enhancing medications in women”. L-Citrulline and Cialis are not recommended to be taken together.
L-Carnitine - This will improve the number of androgen receptors and their sensitivity to testosterone to increase levels of DHT in the pelvic floor, genital tissues, and brain. I recommend taking 2000mg daily. Acetyl-L-Carnitine can pass through the blood-brain barrier, while Propionyl-L-carnitine has a high degree of interaction with testosterone. Propionyl may be better for sexual and pelvic floor dysfunction, while Acetyl might help people suffering from the mental effects of PSSD. This study used each at 2000mg daily to improve erectile dysfunction along with Viagra.. I would work up to 2000mg each of Acetyl and Propionyl L-Carnitine along with Cialis instead of Viagra as it lasts in the body for much longer (36 hours) for increased blood flow healing purposes. You can also use L-Citrulline instead of Cialis as mentioned earlier. Discuss with your doctor before taking them.
Vitamin D - This vitamin, which acts more like a hormone, works directly with the endocrine system. It has its own receptors throughout the body and they are often in close proximity to androgen receptors. Deficiency in vitamin D is associated with a stunting of testosterone's effects on androgen receptors and a decline in testosterone levels. Vitamin D will encourage androgen receptor resensitization. One study found that higher vitamin D levels are associated with a decreased risk of pelvic floor disorders in women, and The levator ani and coccygeus muscles are skeletal muscles that are critical components of the pelvic floor and may be affected by vitamin D nutritional status. I recommend 4000IU of vitamin D daily or whatever gets your levels to 60 - 80 ng/ml.
If you have inflammatory issues or pain due to pelvic floor dysfunction, I recommend a fish oil supplement daily. I take fish oil, and I find that it helps limit pelvic inflammation. I also take Magnesium Glycinate to relax the smooth muscle that lines the pelvic floor and genital tissue. I recommend it for people with clear pelvic floor dysfunction, but others should be careful as research says magnesium is a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor. Take quercetin and bromelain as needed if you experience pelvic inflammatory flare ups and pain, but just be careful as quercetin can also inhibit the production of DHT from testosterone as well. Some say fish oil blocks DHT too, but experiencing chronic pelvic floor pain and inflammation will do more harm to you than minimal DHT blocking. I recommend staying away from all DHT inhibiting foods and supplements for people with PSSD, PFS, and PAS unless you are experiencing pelvic pain and inflammation.
As always, discuss these supplements with your doctor to see if they are okay for you. Lower your supplement intake based on side effects. These aren’t a magic cure, but a tool to help you on your journey to recovery. Don’t do anything without doctor supervision, but this thread gives more evidence for the “cure” for PSSD/PFS being resensitizing androgen receptors and estrogen receptors along with enhancing blood flow as it details how some men recovered through taking high doses of androgens, post cycle therapy, and Cialis. This at least gives hope that a hormonal cure can be created one day by medical professionals. I would of course recommend trying to heal yourself naturally for a long time before doing any hormone treatments under the supervision of a doctor.
I also recommend doing some form of yoga or pelvic floor stretches daily to improve blood flow for pelvic floor relaxation and sex hormone receptor sensitivity. You also need to request to see a pelvic floor therapist for an evaluation and treatment. Learn how to do reverse kegels. Doing reverse kegels will be difficult at first because your pelvic floor is tight and you have little to no awareness of these muscles, so just focus on lengthening and relaxing the pelvic floor through stretches for now. Do not do regular kegels for pelvic floor issues. Learn how to diaphragmatically breathe in 360 degrees to create expansion in your rib cage and abdomen to encourage pelvic floor relaxation. Do not breathe through your chest, and “belly breathing” isn’t the right term because the ribs need to expand as well. You can learn how to diaphragmatically breathe through an exercise such as 4-7-8 breathing. Here is a great video on diaphragmatic breathing and another video. I cannot overstate it enough: retraining yourself to properly breathe diaphragmatically is the single most important thing that you can do to heal from pelvic floor issues. Be a student of breathing: study and take notes on how to breathe better.
Stretches/Yoga poses I recommend:
Hold the Malasana/hindi/yoga squat pose for at least 5-10 minutes at least twice a day, but doing it morning, mid-day, and at night would be the best. Some get great results holding it for 15-20 minutes.This is one of the most important things for your pelvic floor because it will help lengthen and release it. Doing them barefoot is also very beneficial to strengthen your ankles and feet which are connected to your pelvic floor. Again, remember to breathe deeply down into your belly and pelvic floor for all these stretches.
Begin your stretching routine with an Exercise ball ab stretch and Upward-facing dog/cobra pose. This will help stretch your lower abs and psoas muscles so that you can get more breath deeper down into your pelvic floor for the rest of your stretches. Some people say that these types of stretches aren’t great for people who have Anterior Pelvic Tilt, which we should fix, but I still do them as it is important to stretch the lower abs that are hard to get to. You can experiment with doing them sporadically instead of every time you stretch.
This is my current personal complete stretch routine I do in order 3+ days a week:
Myofascial release on my glutes with an orb massage ball but you can use any small hard ball (don’t do this if glutes are currently sore) > Calf stretch against a wall or a yoga block which is what I use > exercise ball ab stretch > upward facing dog > (optional) Do a handful of cat cows > Supine hamstring stretch with yoga strap or an IdealStretch tool which is what I use > Kneeling hip flexor stretch > flat on back supine single knee to chest stretch > then bring knee to opposite shoulder stretch > supine figure four > I do this stretch next right after figure four > Reclined bound angle pose > (optional) butterfly stretch > (optional) A little bit of downward facing dog to stretch the calves > (optional) Lizard Pose) > (optional) Half split stretch/Half monkey pose with yoga blocks > Half-pigeon pose > Child’s pose > Wall quad hip flexor stretch > Wall figure four stretch > Wall straddle pose > Wall happy baby pose > Flat on back while pulling knees apart > kneeling with one leg, other leg out to side for adductors > (optional) Frog pose with feet together > regular Frog pose with feet separated in line with the knees > Yoga squat/malasana > Corpse pose
All these stretches are the ones I found most useful in a routine. See what works for you and develop your own routine. Consistency is the most important. This long stretching routine may not be possible for you to complete regularly so make adjustments, but doing this routine at least 3 days a week is ideal. Stretches such as the yoga squat, supine hamstring stretch, hip flexor stretches, and wall stretches are vital and should be done most days to help relax the pelvic floor. For how long you should hold each stretch, just go by how you and your body feels. Really let go, breathe, and sink into every stretch. On rest days, doing some deep breathing in child’s pose, reclined bound angle pose, flat on back while pulling knees apart, and the happy baby wall pose is really great while trying to do gentle reverse kegels.
You can also work on more individualized stretches for posture to correct anterior pelvic tilt, muscle imbalances, and to release other tight muscles, such as the upper body. Listen to your body if you need to give yourself a rest day from stretching. Adding in a 30-60 minute walk/swim on rest days is incredibly beneficial as well. Eventually, you can also try to learn isometric PNF stretching to incorporate it into some of the stretches such as the kneeling hip flexor stretch and hamstring stretch.
After working to relax and lengthen your pelvic floor through yoga and stretches, I would begin gentle body strengthening exercises that are pelvic floor safe. The pelvic floor is a master compensator. So, if the glutes, adductors, deep hip rotators, transversus abdominis, and other supportive muscles are weak, then the pelvic floor is in the prime position to pick up the slack which leads to a lot of strain on the pelvic floor which results in tightness and dysfunction. You need to strengthen the surrounding muscles to relieve tightness in the pelvic floor. This is where working with a pelvic floor therapist would be helpful to point out safe individualized exercises for you. Yoga will help strengthen your muscles in a safe way too.
The glutes and transversus abdominis in particular are very important to strengthen. Glute bridge, single glute bridge, side lying leg raises, lateral band walks can help build up glute strength. Deadbugs, Bird Dog, 8- point planks, or planks with pelvic floor-friendly modifications, can help to strengthen the transversus abdominis (TVA). Abdominal work may be triggering to your pelvic floor symptoms, especially the 8 point plank, so you can instead look into hypopressive exercises to work the TVA without overworking the pelvic floor. These exercises will help you bring more awareness to your breathing, diaphragm, TVA, and pelvic floor which are all important for recovery. Here is how to find and become aware of the TVA. Do side planks for your oblique ab muscles.
For hip/abductors do the side lying hip abduction exercise, fire hydrants, and the shinbox lunge. For the adductors, do Copenhagen adductor exercise, cossack squats, and an exercise where you squeeze a soft ball between the knees just don’t do any crunch movements with pelvic floor issues. For hamstrings, Nordic hamstring curl/glute ham raises, and single leg bridge. For the back, do supine pelvic tilt. One person even reported that dorsiflexion exercises and stretches were one important element to solve his pelvic floor issues; this is most likely because the ankle bone, like everything else including even our jaw, is connected to the pelvic floor.
Like with anything, do all these exercises in moderation and stop if you sense your pelvic floor is not responding well to them - do them one at a time to see which ones your pelvic floor can handle for now. Here is an exercise routine from another poster that has helped many people. Just be careful of the ab exercises such as the ab wheel and 5 minute planks with your pelvic floor issues - don’t over do it or avoid it if they cause too many symptoms.
Myofascial release and foam rolling to release trigger points also helps a lot of people to relax their pelvic floor muscles and improve blood flow. The glutes are the most important area to target for pelvic floor issues when foam rolling in my experience if you only had limited time. Using a soft ball to lay on and breathe deeply can help release trigger points in the abdominal muscles and psoas which can help you breathe better and relax the pelvic floor. I haven’t done it, but you can also try out a massage gun for myofascial release; just be careful and don’t use it in sensitive pelvic areas. Some men and women also report success using a therawand to release internal trigger points that are causing them pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms.
Walking and swimming for 30-60 minutes are some of the best exercises to lengthen, relax, stretch, and release your pelvic floor, boost blood flow, and help to retain and build strength in muscles that give support to the pelvic floor. Walk or swim for 5+ days a week for the best results. The breaststroke and freestyle are very helpful for pelvic floor sufferers. Along with swimming, people also use an elliptical at a low resistance to help provide a cardio workout that is safer for your pelvic floor.
Fix your posture. Pelvic floor issues and hard flaccid syndrome are closely associated with Anterior Pelvic Tilt and other postural issues. Get evaluated by a physical therapist so that they can give you exercises and stretches to fix it. You could also look into the Postural Restoration institute and see one of their providers and try to implement some of their exercises. In the meantime, here is one video playlist on how to fix APT. Another video to fix APT says to stretch the hip flexors, lower back, while focusing on strengthening the abs, glutes, and hamstrings. Make sure that you sit and walk with good posture - watch this to learn how to walk correctly - activate your glutes during each step and push off with your back foot!. I also recommend getting a standing desk to try to avoid sitting for long periods of time.
Weight training can be effective for boosting active androgen receptors in the body to increase testosterone and DHT levels. However, you need to make sure that it isn’t making your pelvic floor symptoms worse which defeats the purpose. If you are going to lift weights with pelvic floor issues, don’t lift heavy, do any intensive ab workouts, or any other exercises that can put extra strain on your pelvic floor. Do lifts where you can sit down instead of standing up. Start with yoga, stretching, and gentle body exercises to relax your pelvic floor and strengthen surrounding muscles before incorporating consistent weight training. I highly recommend, however, just sticking with yoga and pelvic floor safe body weight exercises to build strength instead. Those with PSSD without pelvic floor dysfunction may benefit a lot from lifting weights, high-intensity interval training, and doing bodyweight exercises such as squats regularly to boost androgen receptors and DHT. Remember to see a pelvic floor therapist to get evaluated first before starting any weight lifting because many people have pelvic floor issues without even realizing it.
Work on your mental health. Anxiety can worsen pelvic floor issues. Just as dogs tuck and tense their tails when stressed, we tense our pelvic floors which are directly connected to our tailbone where we used to have tails ourselves in our evolutionary history. As we are impacted by sexual dysfunction and pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms, we become anxious along with other negative emotions which leads to more pelvic floor tension symptoms due to the fight or flight mode response causing even more anxiety leading to more symptoms. It is a vicious cycle that needs to break by not becoming anxious and negative when we experience pelvic floor symptoms or hard flaccid and instead let go, accept, and realize that it is a normal process when trying to heal because sometimes our muscles that are used to that tightness don't want to let go of the tension we hold in our pelvic floors. Daily yoga, meditation, stretching, and walking will help with anxiety. I would also see a mental health therapist because all of these issues are deeply traumatic and we cannot go through this alone. We often hold tension in the form of emotions and trauma in our bodies, especially our pelvic floor and genital areas. By openly talking about these issues with a therapist, it will help us process and release our emotions and trauma that we are holding inside our bodies to improve our anxiety, relax our pelvic floor, and to let go of all of our tension. Many people who healed their hard flaccid and pelvic floor issues said that solving their anxiety and negative thoughts by talking to a mental health counselor was vital in recovery. The mind-body connection is so powerful, and it directly impacts our pelvic floor. Those who are stuck in the cycle of experiencing pelvic floor symptoms leading to anxiety and negative thoughts will also benefit from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy you can do by yourself like in this video or preferably with a trained therapist. Here is an informative mini lecture on how stress impacts the pelvic floor.
I would also definitely go on a healthy anti-inflammatory diet. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, marijuana, and other substances. Avoid foods and liquids that can trigger pelvic floor inflammation such as highly acidic fruits and veggies, carbonated beverages, very spicy foods, and artificial sugars. To maintain a healthy gut to reduce inflammation in your body I recommend trying a low-histamine probiotic supplement along with eating healthy. You should also work on preventing or fixing constipation; eat a lot of soluble fiber to not get constipated - take a supplement such as metamucil if you have to. Check the Bristol stool shape chart to identify if you are constipated because even mild constipation can contribute to pelvic floor tension. This is because the constipation leads to a lot of pressure being put on your rectum and pelvic floor leading to the muscles becoming weak and dysfunctional. I am willing to bet many of you are constipated and don’t know it because it isn’t just whether you go regularly, it is also how your stool is shaped. People with pelvic floor disorders are at a high risk of constipation which makes their tension and dysfunction worse which then worsens the constipation, another cycle to fix. I recommend getting a Squatty Potty to reduce strain on the pelvic floor during elimination.
To help heal hard flaccid and pelvic floor issues, never watch pornography again (this is vital). Go on NoFap for 90+ days to help heal your brain and body from any unhealthy pornography and sexual habits you have partaken in. Pornography leads to involuntary kegels, a tight pelvic floor, desensitizes you, and messes up the dopamine and arousal circuitry in your brain. Don’t climax too often. Learn how to reverse kegel by yourself and during sexual activities. Never edge or regular kegel - it leads to pelvic floor tightness and dysfunction - just relax your arousal through a reverse kegel. Keep your pelvic floor relaxed during sexual activities.
Stay strong and never give up. You will heal. Thank you for reading.
2024.05.07 09:23 MadCookie17 2 Tennis/2 Golfers elbow for years
Hello there!
I will try to be as brief as possible. Got a tennis elbow on the left arm while doing heavy tricep pushdowns with a V-bar almost 5 years ago. At the time, i decided to stop all physical activity to see if i could recover quickly. After a year and still no results, i decided to research as deep as possible to see what kind of therapy i could do myself. These past years I tried "everything", from the Flexbar, dumbbells wrist extensions/flexion, supination/pronation with hammer, farmers walk, isometric holds with dumbbell, etc. I would like to mention that i never abused those exercises. Would do like twice a week, only two/three set of 10 reps +- with very light weight that even a child could handle.
Along the years, these methods i tried only gave me more injuries. From one tennis elbow, now i have two, and two golfers elbow. Flexbar gave me carpal tunnel pain and de quervain pain (which stopped after a while of not using it. Wrist extensions/flexion also gave me carpal tunnel pain. Supination/pronation also only did worse in the long way. The thing is the pain is not severe, but it just wont go away and i dont dare to make a new gym membership.
Went to a doctor who told me to rest and use Flurbiprofen patches. When he told me to rest i just laughed and said i rested for almost 5 years. But doctors being doctors, didnt care. Since im in a foreign country and dont dominate the local language, its hard to find a good specialized doctor that i can talk too. Private hospitals are just... well, too expensive. Im thinking if i should start doing some hammer curls and tricep pushdowns with rubber bands, focusing on the eccentric part. I know my case i pretty complex, but i would appreciate very much any ideas.
Thank you!
submitted by MadCookie17 to BarbellMedicine [link] [comments]
I will try to be as brief as possible. Got a tennis elbow on the left arm while doing heavy tricep pushdowns with a V-bar almost 5 years ago. At the time, i decided to stop all physical activity to see if i could recover quickly. After a year and still no results, i decided to research as deep as possible to see what kind of therapy i could do myself. These past years I tried "everything", from the Flexbar, dumbbells wrist extensions/flexion, supination/pronation with hammer, farmers walk, isometric holds with dumbbell, etc. I would like to mention that i never abused those exercises. Would do like twice a week, only two/three set of 10 reps +- with very light weight that even a child could handle.
Along the years, these methods i tried only gave me more injuries. From one tennis elbow, now i have two, and two golfers elbow. Flexbar gave me carpal tunnel pain and de quervain pain (which stopped after a while of not using it. Wrist extensions/flexion also gave me carpal tunnel pain. Supination/pronation also only did worse in the long way. The thing is the pain is not severe, but it just wont go away and i dont dare to make a new gym membership.
Went to a doctor who told me to rest and use Flurbiprofen patches. When he told me to rest i just laughed and said i rested for almost 5 years. But doctors being doctors, didnt care. Since im in a foreign country and dont dominate the local language, its hard to find a good specialized doctor that i can talk too. Private hospitals are just... well, too expensive. Im thinking if i should start doing some hammer curls and tricep pushdowns with rubber bands, focusing on the eccentric part. I know my case i pretty complex, but i would appreciate very much any ideas.
Thank you!
2024.05.07 06:05 CastleEsoterica Sable's Guide to V-Rising Roleplay
Hello V-Rising subreddit!
My name is Sable, I am a Vampire/RPG enthusiast who happened across V-Rising in 2022 and have been enamored with it ever since. So much so that somehow I managed to sink 1,000+ hours into the game, playing on RP and PvP servers. In fact, I often tell people that V-Rising is the best vampire game I’ve ever played. “But Sable!” I hear some saying. (my vampire hearing is very sharp). “This is an isometric A-RPG with heavy combat mechanics! And survival aspects?? How can it really be that good or immersive in this genre??”
I’m so glad you asked, random fledgling. Don't interrupt me again though. Hidden within all the wonderful game mechanics that V-Rising eloquently blends together are the tools for The most compelling vampire roleplay I’ve ever seen, complete with intrigue, the pursuit of power, player agency, and immersive and emergent gameplay. So let's talk about it a bit!
If you're reading this, you may be interested in what RP has to offer as opposed to playing the game normally, so this short guide is intended to introduce some basic concepts about V-Rising RP. Anyone can play this way no matter the rules of the server they're on, though it’s generally an easier time if everyone is playing on a server designated as an “RP server” so that there is an assumption of this playstyle.
Here's what we'll go over briefly, to give newcomers an introduction to these concepts:
I. What is RP? II. Why bother with Roleplay? III. How can I RP in V-Rising effectively? IV. Vampires & the monster within V. The RP space and finding players
I. What is RP?
RP stands for Roleplay, and encompasses a wide breadth of actions generally defined as “acting as the role of the PC (player character) in game”. Throughout the course of gameplay, the actions taken by the PC generally reflect who they are - in our case, the vampires we control go about marauding and drinking blood. RP seeks to add a layer on top of that PC action, where the player also speaks or acts as if they are the character they control. Immersive in body as well as mind.
RP is also famous for a few other acronyms it’s generally paired with - TTRPG and RPG: Table Top Role Playing Game, and Role Playing Game, respectively. Long ago, before the time of video games, people would play the roles of characters in games across the table from each other. These tabletop games, such as Dungeons and Dragons and Vampire: the Masquerade were also adapted to video games later, and we find that many RPGs themselves have roots in the TTRPG scene. It’s no surprise that in any game where we control cool characters with compelling stories, that we sometimes want to be those characters, and exercise our agency through them. This is the core of Roleplaying.
II. Why bother with Roleplay? First of all, Roleplay is clearly not for everyone. If you have no interest in the lore, characters, setting, or vampires in general, you likely have little reason to try RP. However, for those who are interested in those aspects of the game, RP can add a huge amount of depth to V-Rising’s core gameplay.
RP players find that out of character elements very seldom enter into the conversation - things like work, real life stresses, or online availability are immaterial to their vampires, and therefore inconsequential to them. This contrasts normal online gameplay modes where these real life factors are often discussed or even actively affect gameplay. In short, RP is a social equalizer - we are all vampires here, no matter where you go off to when you slumber in your coffin.
II. How can I RP in V-Rising effectively? There are a multitude of ways to RP effectively within the game, and not all of them have to do with using the social mechanics or in-game chat system. Everything from your reaction when you see another vampire, the skill of your gameplay, or your intelligence gathering can all actively be considered facets of RP.
Using the above examples, a cordial bow when seeing another vampire shows your character is willing to act through diplomacy first rather than violence. High gameplay skill can be directly correlated to your Vampire’s combat prowess - perhaps they are known as one of the most skilled warriors in the land. -And knowing who, where, and why - your intelligence gathering - makes your character valuable to those who do not pay attention to these matters. Many battles are settled long before the first blow is struck. These are all examples of passive RP, and have nothing to do with talking directly to other players.
Of course, talking to players is one of the main ways players do RP. Most in game conversation is considered to be the characters themselves talking, instead of the player behind the keyboard. Conventions differ from space to space, but sometimes, when players need to communicate out of character, they will add special symbols to signify that they are no longer speaking as the vampire, but the player. [[this is one way that you can do that. The brackets surrounding this sentence signify that I have broken character and am now speaking as the player]]. Be sure to ask the people running the RP space you are a part of what their rules are concerning in and out of character communication, as this does vary as well.
IV. Vampires and the monster within Vampires are monsters in V-Rising, through and through. Even though the player character is the controlled protagonist, and in most video games that would make them the hero, make no mistake - you are the villain here in Vardoran.
This is an important facet of all Vampire RP - how does your character cope with what they are? Do they try and convince themselves the killing, the drinking of blood that they regularly partake in is ethical? Do they truly think themselves above humans - other thinking, living beings? No matter the depravity of humankind in any given vampire setting, (looking at you Church of Luminance) it's often shown that the depths of horror that vampires are willing to facilitate for fun, desperation, or power far outclass anything humans are even capable of.
This of course contrasts with the fact that we, the players, are all humans ourselves - and creating a space to explore these dark themes while maintaining a healthy distance from them in real life is the dramatic irony that makes vampire RP thrive.
V. The RP space and finding players Clearly, RP is more fun when more people are actively roleplaying - it's a whole lot harder to RP when you're the only one involved. This often involves finding an RP space, or in the case of V-Rising, an RP server that aligns with your expectations of the game.
RP is perfectly viable in both PvE and PvP, as well as with any other extra provisions or rules that facilitate play in specific servers.
Many RP spaces feature active moderation to ensure that players remain within the acceptable bounds of play, as well as varying degrees of extra features designed to help play one’s character.
There are wonderful tools on the official V-Rising Discord designed to help players find a server with the settings they are looking for, specifically the channels labeled #find-a-server (for more general server searching) and #community-servers (for more established communities in the game).
Conclusion
The best way to know if RP is for you is to give it a try yourself. So many players have told me some iteration of ”I didn't think RP was for me at all. I had way different expectations of what it was. But once I started playing this way I could never go back!”
Many RP spaces are more than welcoming to newcomers for this very reason - they remember the magic of playing RP for the first time, and genuinely want to share it with others. Even PvP servers are known to be much more cordial and welcoming within RP spaces than outside of them. I hope that reading some of this has inspired you in some way to try RP, or to think about it in a different way than you had previously.
If it’s not for you, that's okay too! One of the best aspects of V-Rising is how many different kinds of players it caters to, and we in the RP scene are one of many in a tapestry of different kinds of gameplay options at your fingertips when you boot up the game and find yourself in the world of Vardoran!
Happy Hunting! Elder Sable
submitted by CastleEsoterica to vrising [link] [comments]
My name is Sable, I am a Vampire/RPG enthusiast who happened across V-Rising in 2022 and have been enamored with it ever since. So much so that somehow I managed to sink 1,000+ hours into the game, playing on RP and PvP servers. In fact, I often tell people that V-Rising is the best vampire game I’ve ever played. “But Sable!” I hear some saying. (my vampire hearing is very sharp). “This is an isometric A-RPG with heavy combat mechanics! And survival aspects?? How can it really be that good or immersive in this genre??”
I’m so glad you asked, random fledgling. Don't interrupt me again though. Hidden within all the wonderful game mechanics that V-Rising eloquently blends together are the tools for The most compelling vampire roleplay I’ve ever seen, complete with intrigue, the pursuit of power, player agency, and immersive and emergent gameplay. So let's talk about it a bit!
If you're reading this, you may be interested in what RP has to offer as opposed to playing the game normally, so this short guide is intended to introduce some basic concepts about V-Rising RP. Anyone can play this way no matter the rules of the server they're on, though it’s generally an easier time if everyone is playing on a server designated as an “RP server” so that there is an assumption of this playstyle.
Here's what we'll go over briefly, to give newcomers an introduction to these concepts:
I. What is RP? II. Why bother with Roleplay? III. How can I RP in V-Rising effectively? IV. Vampires & the monster within V. The RP space and finding players
I. What is RP?
RP stands for Roleplay, and encompasses a wide breadth of actions generally defined as “acting as the role of the PC (player character) in game”. Throughout the course of gameplay, the actions taken by the PC generally reflect who they are - in our case, the vampires we control go about marauding and drinking blood. RP seeks to add a layer on top of that PC action, where the player also speaks or acts as if they are the character they control. Immersive in body as well as mind.
RP is also famous for a few other acronyms it’s generally paired with - TTRPG and RPG: Table Top Role Playing Game, and Role Playing Game, respectively. Long ago, before the time of video games, people would play the roles of characters in games across the table from each other. These tabletop games, such as Dungeons and Dragons and Vampire: the Masquerade were also adapted to video games later, and we find that many RPGs themselves have roots in the TTRPG scene. It’s no surprise that in any game where we control cool characters with compelling stories, that we sometimes want to be those characters, and exercise our agency through them. This is the core of Roleplaying.
II. Why bother with Roleplay? First of all, Roleplay is clearly not for everyone. If you have no interest in the lore, characters, setting, or vampires in general, you likely have little reason to try RP. However, for those who are interested in those aspects of the game, RP can add a huge amount of depth to V-Rising’s core gameplay.
RP players find that out of character elements very seldom enter into the conversation - things like work, real life stresses, or online availability are immaterial to their vampires, and therefore inconsequential to them. This contrasts normal online gameplay modes where these real life factors are often discussed or even actively affect gameplay. In short, RP is a social equalizer - we are all vampires here, no matter where you go off to when you slumber in your coffin.
II. How can I RP in V-Rising effectively? There are a multitude of ways to RP effectively within the game, and not all of them have to do with using the social mechanics or in-game chat system. Everything from your reaction when you see another vampire, the skill of your gameplay, or your intelligence gathering can all actively be considered facets of RP.
Using the above examples, a cordial bow when seeing another vampire shows your character is willing to act through diplomacy first rather than violence. High gameplay skill can be directly correlated to your Vampire’s combat prowess - perhaps they are known as one of the most skilled warriors in the land. -And knowing who, where, and why - your intelligence gathering - makes your character valuable to those who do not pay attention to these matters. Many battles are settled long before the first blow is struck. These are all examples of passive RP, and have nothing to do with talking directly to other players.
Of course, talking to players is one of the main ways players do RP. Most in game conversation is considered to be the characters themselves talking, instead of the player behind the keyboard. Conventions differ from space to space, but sometimes, when players need to communicate out of character, they will add special symbols to signify that they are no longer speaking as the vampire, but the player. [[this is one way that you can do that. The brackets surrounding this sentence signify that I have broken character and am now speaking as the player]]. Be sure to ask the people running the RP space you are a part of what their rules are concerning in and out of character communication, as this does vary as well.
IV. Vampires and the monster within Vampires are monsters in V-Rising, through and through. Even though the player character is the controlled protagonist, and in most video games that would make them the hero, make no mistake - you are the villain here in Vardoran.
This is an important facet of all Vampire RP - how does your character cope with what they are? Do they try and convince themselves the killing, the drinking of blood that they regularly partake in is ethical? Do they truly think themselves above humans - other thinking, living beings? No matter the depravity of humankind in any given vampire setting, (looking at you Church of Luminance) it's often shown that the depths of horror that vampires are willing to facilitate for fun, desperation, or power far outclass anything humans are even capable of.
This of course contrasts with the fact that we, the players, are all humans ourselves - and creating a space to explore these dark themes while maintaining a healthy distance from them in real life is the dramatic irony that makes vampire RP thrive.
V. The RP space and finding players Clearly, RP is more fun when more people are actively roleplaying - it's a whole lot harder to RP when you're the only one involved. This often involves finding an RP space, or in the case of V-Rising, an RP server that aligns with your expectations of the game.
RP is perfectly viable in both PvE and PvP, as well as with any other extra provisions or rules that facilitate play in specific servers.
Many RP spaces feature active moderation to ensure that players remain within the acceptable bounds of play, as well as varying degrees of extra features designed to help play one’s character.
There are wonderful tools on the official V-Rising Discord designed to help players find a server with the settings they are looking for, specifically the channels labeled #find-a-server (for more general server searching) and #community-servers (for more established communities in the game).
Conclusion
The best way to know if RP is for you is to give it a try yourself. So many players have told me some iteration of ”I didn't think RP was for me at all. I had way different expectations of what it was. But once I started playing this way I could never go back!”
Many RP spaces are more than welcoming to newcomers for this very reason - they remember the magic of playing RP for the first time, and genuinely want to share it with others. Even PvP servers are known to be much more cordial and welcoming within RP spaces than outside of them. I hope that reading some of this has inspired you in some way to try RP, or to think about it in a different way than you had previously.
If it’s not for you, that's okay too! One of the best aspects of V-Rising is how many different kinds of players it caters to, and we in the RP scene are one of many in a tapestry of different kinds of gameplay options at your fingertips when you boot up the game and find yourself in the world of Vardoran!
Happy Hunting! Elder Sable
2024.05.06 14:22 HotColdHard [COMING SOON : REPLICATION (MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT)] LAST 10 DAYS TO THE RELEASE! BUY NOW & SAVE 100 DOLLARS!!!
Marketplace Link : Isometric Wall Fading & Sight-Based Advanced Object Detection System
COMING SOON : REPLICATION (MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT) (REPLICATION QUICK REVIEW VIDEO)
LAST 10 DAYS TO THE RELEASE OF THE REPLICATED VERSION! BUY NOW & SAVE $100!!!
Please watch the Showcase Video for more details about the product.
Features :
- Multi-CharacteBuilding : Can be applied to multiple characters and multiple buildings simultaneously.
- Easy Integration : Ready to use by adding to your building actor and character with just a few simple settings.
- Building Part Visibility : Makes the walls that obstruct the visibility of characters within a building isometrically invisible. It does this in three distinct ways: by isometric hiding, isometric fading, or making all walls invisible.
- Line of Sight : Delineates the character's field of vision. Objects within this area become visible, while those outside fades or becomes invisible based on specified values.
- Sight Blocking & Advanced Object Detection : When sight blocking is activated, objects that obstruct the Line of Sight prevent characters from seeing hidden objects. There are two distinct modes for object detection: Location-based (Simple Detection) and Surface-based (Advanced Detection).
- Dynamic Object Visibility : Dynamically reveals or conceals items and characters based on the characters' line of sight, utilizing custom fade values(Out Of Sight and Out Of Perception) for transitions between visibility.
- Configuration with Generic Values : Executes all processes through a few generic values.
- Blueprint or C++ : No C++ knowledge required for use. Can be used with Blueprint or C++.
Additionally :
- In-Building Character and Item Management : Returns characters and items within a building on a building, floor, and room basis.
- Room Mapping : Identifies and returns adjacent/neighbor rooms and enhances the processability of the structure.
- Floor Focused Character Visibility : Characters become invisible when they move to an unfocused floor.
- Hidden Object Visibility Options : Keep objects visible or hide them when there are no characters left in the room.
- Floor Visibility Options : When there are no characters left in the building, making visible all floors or only the focused floor.
Includes the 'Building Floor & Room Identifier Plugin' :
- Easy Integration : Ready to use by adding it to your building actor and making a few simple settings.
- Automatic Recognition and Analysis : Automatically recognizes and analyzes the floors and rooms of buildings.
- Inter-Floor Transitions : Allows transitions between floors of the building.
- Compatibility : Compatible with both Full walls and Cutaway walls, thus meeting different design and display needs.
- Building Processability : Returns building's modular parts such as walls, windows, and stairs at both floor and room, makes buildings processable.
- Custom Settings : The dimensions of the processing area and the building parts to be detected are defined customarily.
- Flexible Application : Different settings can be applied to different buildings, allowing for various results at the same time.
- Configuration with Generic Values : Executes all processes through a few generic values.
- Includes External Product : 450+ Modular Building Parts For Blockout & Beyond
2024.05.04 16:47 cloud_credits_throw Should I really be weight-bearing after 1 week post ACL + meniscus surgery?
I’ve had ACL reconstruction + meniscus repair + modified lemaire.
In the post surgery protocol it says I am allowed to walk with full weight bearing without clutches starting on day 8 post surgery. My online research indicates that this is quite unusual and very early. Surgeon was recommended to me independently by multiple people though.
Here is a summary of the physical therapy protocol and surgery details translated to English by Claude.ai:
Physical Therapy:
Day 1: - Immobilization in 0° knee brace for 7 days and nights - Drain removal - Partial weight bearing (15 kg) with 2 crutches, except for bathroom (full weight bearing) - Exercises: Thrombosis prophylaxis, patellar mobilization, quadriceps isometrics, active terminal knee extension
Day 2: - Passive range of motion without weight bearing, goal 0°-90° once daily - Partial weight bearing (15 kg) with 2 crutches - Exercises: Extension 5x per day for 10 mins, cryotherapy if swelling, opposite leg PNF, co-contractions, passive flexion 0°-90° in supine
Day 8 to Week 6: - Range of motion with weight bearing 0/0/45° in a hinged knee brace - Goals: Quadriceps strength >50%, flexion deficit <10° - Progress to full weight bearing as tolerated without crutches - Exercises: Knee mobilization, extensions, flexion to 90° without weight, cryotherapy, patellascar mobilizations, open/closed kinetic chain strengthening, gait training, lymphatic drainage
Weeks 7-12: - No brace - Normal gait pattern - Full range of motion - Quadriceps strength >80% - Weight bearing with knee flexion up to 90° maximum - Exercises: Running (treadmill), proprioceptive training, reaction/agility drills, cycling, non-weight bearing >90° flexion as tolerated
Weeks 13-24: - Maintain/improve quadriceps strength >85% - Return to sport as approved by surgeon - Full weight bearing including deep flexion - No deep squatting/jumping until 6 months post-op - Exercises: Speed/power training, sport-specific drills
Surgery: ACL reconstruction using a quadrupled semitendinosus tendon graft, with femoral fixation using a cortical suspension device (ACL TightRope) and tibial fixation with a bioabsorbable interference screw. Repair of the medial meniscus ramp lesion using two all-inside meniscal sutures. Open anterolateral stabilization (Lemaire procedure) by creating a strip from the iliotibial band, passing it under the lateral collateral ligament, and fixing it to the medial epicondyle using a swivel-lock anchor.
submitted by cloud_credits_throw to ACL [link] [comments]
In the post surgery protocol it says I am allowed to walk with full weight bearing without clutches starting on day 8 post surgery. My online research indicates that this is quite unusual and very early. Surgeon was recommended to me independently by multiple people though.
Here is a summary of the physical therapy protocol and surgery details translated to English by Claude.ai:
Physical Therapy:
Day 1: - Immobilization in 0° knee brace for 7 days and nights - Drain removal - Partial weight bearing (15 kg) with 2 crutches, except for bathroom (full weight bearing) - Exercises: Thrombosis prophylaxis, patellar mobilization, quadriceps isometrics, active terminal knee extension
Day 2: - Passive range of motion without weight bearing, goal 0°-90° once daily - Partial weight bearing (15 kg) with 2 crutches - Exercises: Extension 5x per day for 10 mins, cryotherapy if swelling, opposite leg PNF, co-contractions, passive flexion 0°-90° in supine
Day 8 to Week 6: - Range of motion with weight bearing 0/0/45° in a hinged knee brace - Goals: Quadriceps strength >50%, flexion deficit <10° - Progress to full weight bearing as tolerated without crutches - Exercises: Knee mobilization, extensions, flexion to 90° without weight, cryotherapy, patellascar mobilizations, open/closed kinetic chain strengthening, gait training, lymphatic drainage
Weeks 7-12: - No brace - Normal gait pattern - Full range of motion - Quadriceps strength >80% - Weight bearing with knee flexion up to 90° maximum - Exercises: Running (treadmill), proprioceptive training, reaction/agility drills, cycling, non-weight bearing >90° flexion as tolerated
Weeks 13-24: - Maintain/improve quadriceps strength >85% - Return to sport as approved by surgeon - Full weight bearing including deep flexion - No deep squatting/jumping until 6 months post-op - Exercises: Speed/power training, sport-specific drills
Surgery: ACL reconstruction using a quadrupled semitendinosus tendon graft, with femoral fixation using a cortical suspension device (ACL TightRope) and tibial fixation with a bioabsorbable interference screw. Repair of the medial meniscus ramp lesion using two all-inside meniscal sutures. Open anterolateral stabilization (Lemaire procedure) by creating a strip from the iliotibial band, passing it under the lateral collateral ligament, and fixing it to the medial epicondyle using a swivel-lock anchor.
2024.04.29 22:17 Cyph3r_ [PC] [Recent/unreleased?] Game about remnants of interstellar church/cult
I feel like I saw a trailer (maybe demo?) for a game based around an interstellar (multidimensional?) church in some sort of void, with portals/pathways to different worlds they used to be active on. The premise was you were returning the church/cult to glory and reasserting its power, discovering its secrets, etc.
Any direction would help! Not sure if it was unreleased, a kickstarter, or what. But I remember a video with some kind of minimalist, I think isometric/top down view.
submitted by Cyph3r_ to tipofmyjoystick [link] [comments]
Any direction would help! Not sure if it was unreleased, a kickstarter, or what. But I remember a video with some kind of minimalist, I think isometric/top down view.
2024.04.29 10:26 VashxShanks [Steam Golden Week Big Sale 2024] List/Guide of Recommendations For Great JRPGs and Hidden Gems.
The Golden Week Sale for PSN/Switch/Xbox is in a separate thread. Here is the link:
https://www.reddit.com/JRPG/comments/1cfdav3/jrpgs_on_sale_weekly_breakdown_recommendations/
Important Notes:
- I do my best to include every sale, but at the same time I focus on sales that are worth a mention, meaning sales start with at least 20% and up. I usually skip anything below that unless it's a worth while title.
- Click on the price to visit the store page for that game.
- The end date of the sale isn't mentioned, you can check the store page to see it.
- All of these sales are based on the US store front, so some sales may not be available depending on your country.
~ Steam ~
If you want to check the games yourself:~ Link to the JRPGs on Sale For Golden Week ~
Steam Deck Icons (As explained by Steam itself):
🟦 Verified: Means that the game is fully compatible and works with built-in controls and display.🟧 Playable: Means the game is Functional, but requires extra effort to interact with and configure .
"--" Unknown: Basically unconfirmed or still under-review.
- All Atelier games individually are on sale for -35% to -60%. (except Marie)
- All The Legend of Heroes games are on sale for -20% to -60%.
- All Ys games are on sale for -40% to -70% (Origin/I & II Chronicles+/he Oath in Felghana/Memories of Celceta/The Ark of Napishtim/SEVEN/Lacrimosa of DANA/Monstrum Nox).
- All Final Fantasy games are on sale for -40% to -60%. (except pixel remasters)
- All All Disgaea games are on sale for -20% to -80% (1/2/4/5/6/7).
- All Doraemon Story of Seasons games are on sale for -25% to -50%.
- All Voice of Cards Trilogy on sale each for $11.99. (The Isle Dragon Roars/The Forsaken Maiden/The Beasts of Burden)
- All Etrian Odyssey HD trilogy is on sale each for $19.
- All Yakuza titles are on sale (0/Kiwami 1/Kiwami 2/3/4/5/6/Ishin!/Infinite Wealth)
| Game | Price/Link | Tags | Steam Deck |
|---|---|---|---|
| LIVE A LIVE | $24.99 | Turn-based/Different settings depending on the character chosen/HD-2D Graphics/min-tactical grid movement in battles/Remake of the SNES original/Amazing music | 🟦 Verified |
| Persona 3 Reload | $48.99 | Turn-based/Modern Day setting/Highschool Life sim/Detective Mystery/Dating Sim/Social Links system/Great Soundtrack | 🟦 Verified |
| Persona 4 Golden | $11.99 | Turn-based/Modern Day setting/Highschool Life sim/Detective Mystery/Dating Sim/Social Links system/Great Soundtrack | 🟦 Verified |
| Persona 5 Royal | $23.99 | Turn-based/Modern Japan setting/Highschool life simulatoMystery/Monster collectoSocial link system/Great soundtrack | 🟦 Verified |
| Soul Hackers 2 | $14.99 | Turn-based/Cyberpunk setting/Monster collectoFemale Protagonist | 🟧 Playable |
| Yakuza: Like a Dragon | $11.99 | Turn-based/Contemporary Japan setting/Yakuza life/Open World/Heavy on Drama and Comedy/Heavy on Mini-games/Class Changing Mechanics | 🟦 Verified |
| Like a Dragon: Ishin! | $23.99 | Action/Edo period Japan setting/Crime/Comedy heavy/Drama heavy/Mini-game Heavy/Beat'em up/Open World | 🟦 Verified |
| Super Robot Wars 30 | $19.79 | Tactical turn-based/Sci-fi setting/Mecha/Anime CrossoveMission based progression/Huge list of Playable characters/VN style | 🟦 Verified |
| Valkyria Chronicles | $4.99 | Tactical Turn-based/World War Militar setting/Tactical mixed with real-time elements/Sketch or "Canvas" art style/Build your Army with character customization/Mission based story progression/Army management | 🟦 Verified |
| Valkyria Chronicles 4 Complete Edition | $9.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy Sci-fi World War setting/Tactical mixed with real-time elements/Sketch or "Canvas" art style/Build your Army with character customization/Mission based story progression/Army management | 🟦 Verified |
| Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk | $12.49 | Turn-based/Dark Fantasy setting/Class customization system/Tiered loot/Dungeon Crawler | 🟧 Playable |
| Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society | $39.99 | Turn-based/Dark Fantasy setting/Class customization system/Tiered loot/Dungeon Crawler | 🟦 Verified |
| Langrisser I & II | $14.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Remake of 2 games in 1/Fire Emblem-like/Multiple story routes and endings | 🟦 Verified |
| ŌKAMI HD | $9.99 | Action/Japanese Mythology Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Beautiful watercolor animations and art style | 🟦 Verified |
| Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX | $20.99 | Active time battle/Fantasy setting/Monster raising simulatoTournaments heavy/Monster collector | 🟦 Verified |
| CRYSTAR | $17.99 | Action/Dark Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Hack & Slash/Deals with self-harm and dark subjects | 🟦 Verified |
| The Caligula Effect: Overdose | $12.49 | Turn-based unique combat/School Life setting/Persona-like/Great Soundtrack/Female and Male Protagonist choice | -- |
| Conception PLUS: Maidens of the Twelve Stars | $11.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Dating-sim/Fan-service/Harem/Dungeon Crawler | -- |
| Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars | $3.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Dating-sim/Fan-service/Harem/Dungeon Crawler | -- |
| The Alliance Alive HD Remastered | $9.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Expansive Skill Tree/Character customization | 🟦 Verified |
| Zanki Zero: Last Beginning | $11.99 | Action/Post-apocalyptic setting/Base Building/Psychological HorroDating sim/Resource gathering & Survival/Crafting | 🟦 Verified |
| MONARK | $38.99 | Tactical turn-based/Modern world setting/Dark Fantasy/Highschool setting/Psychological | -- |
| Relayer Advanced | $18.99 | Tactical turn-based/Sci-fi setting/Space travel/Piloted Mecha/Female Protagonist/Anime art style | 🟧 Playable |
| GOD WARS The Complete Legend | $5.99 | Tactical turn-based/Japanese Myth Fantasy setting/Class customization system | 🟦 Verified |
| Cladun Returns Bundle (2 games): This Is Sengoku! & Cladun X2 | $4.96 | Action/Fantasy setting/Character creatoDungeon CrawlePixel graphics/Class system | 🟧 Playable |
| Dust: An Elysian Tail | $4.94 | Action/Fantasy setting/Metriodvania/PlatformeMetroidvania | 🟦 Verified |
| VALKYRIE ELYSIUM | $23.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Multiple Endings | -- |
| Hero Must Die. Again | $9.99 | Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/choices MatteMany Different ending with each new playthrough/Short (4 to 5 hours) for each playthrough/Multiple playthroughs to get the true ending | 🟦 Verified |
| The DioField Chronicle | $23.99 | Real Time Strategy/Medieval fantasy setting/Military & WaClass mechanics | 🟦 Verified |
| SD GUNDAM G Generation Cross Rays | $9.99 | Tactical turn-based/Sci-fi setting/Mecha/Gundam Anime/Manga CrossoveMission based progression/Huge amount of playable Units & Pilots/Heavy & detailed customization options/Beautifully Animated | -- |
| SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE | $19.79 | Action/Sci-fi setting/Anime Adaptation/Hack and Slash/Online Co-Op | -- |
| DRAGON QUEST® XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age™ - Definitive Edition | $23.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Great soundtrack/Full Pixel graphics option/Character skill tree/Gathering resources and crafting | 🟧 Playable |
| DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS™ 2 | $29.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Minecraft-like | -- |
| DRAGON QUEST TREASURES | $29.99 | Action/Medieval Fantasy setting/Monster CollectoTreasure hunteOpen Zones/Exploration | 🟦 Verified |
| Secret of Mana | $19.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/3D Remake/Local Co-Op | -- |
| Trials of Mana | $24.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Hack & Slash/Choose 3 out of 6 main characters/Class customization system/Expansive Skill Tree | 🟦 Verified |
| Legend of Mana Remaster | $14.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Beat'em up/World Building Mechanic/Open World/Beautifully Hand Drawn/Great Music/Resource gathering & Crafting | 🟦 Verified |
| AKIBA'S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed | $7.99 | Action/Modern Akihabara setting/Vampires/Beat'em up/Open-world/Comedy | 🟦 Verified |
| AKIBA'S TRIP: Undead & Undressed (2nd game in the series) | $7.99 | Action/Modern Akihabara setting/Vampires/Beat'em up/Open-world/Comedy | -- |
| NieR:Automata | $15.99 | Action/Hack & Slash/Female Protagonist/Post-apocalyptic setting/Open World/Dark Fantasy | 🟧 Playable |
| NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... | $23.99 | Action/Post-apocalyptic setting/Hack & Slash/Bullet Hell/Dark Fantasy/Dark HumoFan-service/LGBTQ+ | 🟧 Playable |
| Tactics Ogre: Reborn | $24.99 | Tactical turn-based/Medieval fantasy/Choices MatteMultiple story routes/Class system/Dark/Politics/Remake of the SNES original | 🟦 Verified |
| Octopath Traveler | $29.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Multiple Protagonists to choose as your main charactePixel Graphics/2.5D | 🟧 Playable |
| Octopath Traveler II | $35.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Multiple Protagonists to choose as your main charactePixel Graphics/2.5D | 🟦 Verified |
| Bravely Default II | $29.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Class changing mechanics | 🟧 Playable |
| TRIANGLE STRATEGY™ | $29.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/HD2D/Choices MatteClass promotion mechanic/War & Politics/Multiple Story routes | 🟦 Verified |
| HARVESTELLA | $29.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Farming SimulatoClass changing system/Resource gathering and Crafting | 🟧 Playable |
| Fallen Legion Revenants | $25.99 | Active Timed Battle/Fantasy setting/Valkyrie Profile combat-like/Choices Matter | -- |
| Dungeon Encounters | $11.99 | Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Dungeon CrawleCharacter Customization/Very light on Story | 🟦 Verified |
| Tales of Arise: Deluxe Edition | $19.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Anime style/Revolution Story/Fantasy setting/anime trope heavy/Social links mechanic between party members | 🟦 Verified |
| Chrono Trigger | $7.49 | Turn-based/Pixel Graphics/Time-Travel/Fantasy Adventure/Great Soundtrack/All time Classic | 🟧Playable |
| NEO: The World Ends with You | $23.99 | Action/Modern Tokyo setting/Dark Fantasy/Death Game/Read people's minds/Psychic powers | 🟧Playable |
| STAR OCEAN™ - THE LAST HOPE -™ 4K & Full HD Remaster | $6.29 | Action/Sci-fi setting/Space travel/Social link mechanic/Crafting and Resource gathering | -- |
| Star Ocean The Divine Force | $29.99 | Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Space travel/Resource gathering & Crafting/Social link mechanic between party members | -- |
| Soul Nomad & the World Eaters | $9.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Deep character customization/Comedy/Multiple routes & endings | 🟧Playable |
| Phantom Brave PC | $3.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Deep character customization/Comedy | 🟧Playable |
| Makai Kingdom: Reclaimed and Rebound | $12.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Deep character customization/Comedy | -- |
| ZHP: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman | $12.99 | Tactical Turn-based/Sci-fi setting/Deep character customization/Comedy/Roguelike | 🟦 Verified |
| La Pucelle: Ragnarok | $12.99 | Tactical turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Comedy | 🟦 Verified |
| Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure | $12.99 | Tactical turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Comedy/Cute/Musical | 🟦 Verified |
| Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess | $19.99 | Tactical turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Comedy/Cute/Musical | 🟦 Verified |
| Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom | $19.99 | Tactical turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Comedy/Cute/Musical | 🟦 Verified |
| Banner of the Maid | $1.69 | Tactical Turn-based/French War setting/Female Protagonist/Pixel Graphics | 🟦 Verified |
| Persona 5 Tactica | $35.99 | Tactical turn-based/Isekai/Monster collector | 🟦 Verified |
| Fate/Samurai Remnant | $40.19 | Action/Edo period Japan setting/Anime Visual Novel//Historic Figures | 🟦 Verified |
| WitchSpring R | $27.29 | Turn-based/Medieval fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Resource gathering & Crafting/Monster collection | 🟦 Verified |
| Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition | $9.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Anime style/Local Co-Op support in combat/Fantasy Adventure anime trope heavy | 🟦 Verified |
| Tales of Arise | $19.99 | Action/Fantasy setting/Anime style/Revolution Story/Fantasy setting/anime trope heavy/Social links mechanic between party members | 🟦 Verified |
| Blue Reflection | $14.99 | Turn-based/Japanese School Life setting/Female Protagonist/Magical Girls/Fan-service | -- |
| Blue Reflection: Second Light | $23.99 | Turn-based/Japanese School Life setting/Female Protagonist/Magical Girls/Fan-service | 🟧 Playable |
| Xanadu Next | $4.49 | Action/Fantasy setting/Isometric/Dungeon crawler | -- |
| Loop8: Summer of Gods | $11.99 | Turn-based/Modern world setting/Social links/Dating sim/Choices matter | 🟦 Verified |
| Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs | $3.99 | Tactical turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Social link system/Politics/Comedy | 🟧 Playable |
| Souls of Chronos | $9.59 | Action/Fantasy setting/Choices MatteMultiple Endings/Top-Down View/Chibi characteAnime art style | 🟦 Verified |
| Demon Gaze Extra | $19.99 | Turn-based/First Person dungeon crawleDark Fantasy setting/Monster collection | 🟧 Playable |
| Front Mission 1st: Remake | $17.49 | Tactical turn-based/Sci-fi setting/War & Politics/Mecha/Customization | 🟦Verified |
~ General Recommendations (All Consoles) For Anyone Who Can't Decide ~
First off, I won't recommend big or famous games like Final Fantasy or Persona, this is more for lesser know, hidden gems, or just games where it's hard to find someone talking about them.
[Valkyria Chronicles]
[Valkyria Chronicles 4]
This one is really hard to explain through words alone, but just in case, the VC series is a World War 2 military setting story, where you act as the lead of a squad and take mission to drive back the enemy. The story is drama heavy and the gameplay is tactical turn-based, but it's mixed with real-time third person shooter.You can also make your own army by recruiting different types of solders, training them and upgrading their gear. From rifles to tanks, this is a game you have to experience to understand.
[Atelier Ryza]
A great and fun series that really can't be summed up in a short description. So to give a more detailed explanation and to save on save; if you're interested in this series, then check this "Where to start" thread about the series:(Link to "Where do I start with the Atelier series")
[WitchSpring R]
If you're a fan of the Atelier series, or just want to play a really well made and wholesome turn-based JRPG, then this is an easy choice. A great game with many optional bosses, dungeons to explore, and pets to collect and even use as mounts. The story is very well paced and always keep the story moving forward that it won't take you 20 to 27 hours to finish, or a bit longer depending how much of side content you'll go for. But above all, the main character is loveable and so are the supporting case.The story isn't deep or complex, but also it's not as chill or relaxing as an Atelier series. There are stakes and there are a lot of plot twists, but it is all well done for an indie developer.
[SD GUNDAM G Generation Cross Rays]
You want a Tactical Mecha game focused on the Gundam universe, but mainly the AU era, with great graphics/animation, crazy amount of customization and days worth of playtime ? That's a very specific request, but here you go.Cross Rays brings you amazing Metal on Metal smack down! with a huge (and I mean huge) list of Mechs to develop, evolve, capture, fuse, exchange, and unlock throughout a long and satisfying story campaign, and a customization system deep and varied enough to lose days of your life on. You can even customize your original characters, and even choose the OST for each individual attack for each mech.
With multiple difficulties from the get go, and more unlocked once you finish the game, a full playthrough (not 100%) just through the story missions, is easily 100+ hours, but since the game is built on a missions based system, where you can choose to play any story at any time and switch from series to another at your will, you can at your own pace, and there is no need to finish everything since because you can simply stop when you have had enough.
If you're looking for a deep tactical combat, this isn't it, but if you're looking for a trip through some of the best stories in the Gundam universe, and one of the best Gundam/Mecha games with fantastic animations and deep and expansive customization, this is it. And now, it's Dirt Cheap for the amount of content it has ($9.99)
[LIVE A LIVE]
The original SNES game is already a classic game in the genre, and this remake elevated it even higher. Great animation, fun combat system, add great voice acting, 8 main characters to choose from, each in their own time period, from the stone age, to futuristic space age. A true gem of the past that has been polished and is now shining than ever before.Finally, the music. The reason I left this to the last is because if you are someone who loves JRPG soundtracks, this game is a MUST play, forget the graphics, forget the story, forget the gameplay. The music in this is AMAZING! It alone is worth the full price of the game let alone the now that it's on sale.
[Legend of Mana Remaster]
A Fantastic game in everything except it's combat, which is average. Though with this remaster, you can even turn off combat any time you want. The remaster in itself is great, polishing up the visuals and adding a ENTIRE orchestral version for each track in the game, and this is a game with an amazing soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura. So now you can switch between the original OST and the new orchestral one at any time.The game follows an open-world concept with lots of freedom and giving you the choice on where to place each city/kingdom/dungeon on the map, and depending on how you do it, you'll unlock better weapons, items, quests, and so on.
It's a great game that you need to experience to know how good it is.
[Ys series]
This is a case of a whole series is filled with great games, it's really hard to go wrong here.But if you're going to choose one, then this one is an easy pick. Fantastic soundtrack ? check! Great Smooth Action gameplay ? check! Dogi the wall breaker ? check! Base building and crafting ? check! and check! So if you're looking amazing music while you hack and slash your way through monsters and bosses, then Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA is easily your go to game.
As always, please do add your own recommendations, and let me know if there is mistake or if something was missing, and have a nice day.
2024.04.28 11:23 MadCookie17 2 Tennis/2 Golfers elbow for years
Hello there!
I will try to be as brief as possible. Got a tennis elbow on the left arm while doing heavy tricep pushdowns with a V-bar almost 5 years ago. At the time, i decided to stop all physical activity to see if i could recover quickly. After a year and still no results, i decided to research as deep as possible to see what kind of therapy i could do myself. These past years I tried "everything", from the Flexbar, dumbbells wrist extensions/flexion, supination/pronation with hammer, farmers walk, isometric holds with dumbbell, etc. I would like to mention that i never abused those exercises. Would do like twice a week, only two/three set of 10 reps +- with very light weight that even a child could handle.
Along the years, these methods i tried only gave me more injuries. From one tennis elbow, now i have two, and two golfers elbow. Flexbar gave me carpal tunnel pain and de quervain pain (which stopped after a while of not using it. Wrist extensions/flexion also gave me carpal tunnel pain. Supination/pronation also only did worse in the long way. The thing is the pain is not severe, but it just wont go away and i dont dare to make a new gym membership.
Went to a doctor who told me to rest and use Flurbiprofen patches. When he told me to rest i just laughed and said i rested for almost 5 years. But doctors being doctors, didnt care. Since im in a foreign country and dont dominate the local language, its hard to find a good specialized doctor that i can talk too. Private hospitals are just... well, too expensive. Im thinking if i should start doing some hammer curls and tricep pushdowns with rubber bands, focusing on the eccentric part. I know my case i pretty complex, but i would appreciate very much any ideas.
Thank you!
submitted by MadCookie17 to overcominggravity [link] [comments]
I will try to be as brief as possible. Got a tennis elbow on the left arm while doing heavy tricep pushdowns with a V-bar almost 5 years ago. At the time, i decided to stop all physical activity to see if i could recover quickly. After a year and still no results, i decided to research as deep as possible to see what kind of therapy i could do myself. These past years I tried "everything", from the Flexbar, dumbbells wrist extensions/flexion, supination/pronation with hammer, farmers walk, isometric holds with dumbbell, etc. I would like to mention that i never abused those exercises. Would do like twice a week, only two/three set of 10 reps +- with very light weight that even a child could handle.
Along the years, these methods i tried only gave me more injuries. From one tennis elbow, now i have two, and two golfers elbow. Flexbar gave me carpal tunnel pain and de quervain pain (which stopped after a while of not using it. Wrist extensions/flexion also gave me carpal tunnel pain. Supination/pronation also only did worse in the long way. The thing is the pain is not severe, but it just wont go away and i dont dare to make a new gym membership.
Went to a doctor who told me to rest and use Flurbiprofen patches. When he told me to rest i just laughed and said i rested for almost 5 years. But doctors being doctors, didnt care. Since im in a foreign country and dont dominate the local language, its hard to find a good specialized doctor that i can talk too. Private hospitals are just... well, too expensive. Im thinking if i should start doing some hammer curls and tricep pushdowns with rubber bands, focusing on the eccentric part. I know my case i pretty complex, but i would appreciate very much any ideas.
Thank you!
2024.04.25 17:54 Haunting_Revenue7808 Pt shoulder case: S/P complete supraspinatus retear + infraspinatus tendinosus
Pt is 62 y/o, with a complete tear on a previously repaired supraspinatus at the insertion while lifting at the gym 2.5 weeks ago. Pt did powerlifting and bodybuilding for a long time, and had a complete tear in the R supraspinatus with no symptoms noticed, so when it was repaired, it wasn’t the best repair.
He got an MRI a week ago (about 1.5 weeks after the tear) showing “infraspinatus tendinosis”, pain in his shoulder has improved since the event at the gym. He has done workouts in the gym since then with no real change in his symptoms, per his report.
Upon exam, he had some scapular winging on eccentric phase shoulder flexion AROM, with some increase in anterior GH pain at about 90 degrees, so started him on serratus activation via wall slides, progressed to high plank to pike transitions with good effect and less pain upon retesting.
AROM into abduction and flexion actually look really good otherwise.
Resisted isometrics for GH ER at 0 abduction are painful on involved side.
Posterior capsule mobs help reduce pain.
Also started on ER reactive isometrics, which have been painful. Even sidelying ER iso holds are painful. I’m thinking next session I will just try wall iso in standing if need be to get the infrapinatus functioning better, since he will need it.
I’m sure he still has some joint effusion from the tear 2.5 weeks ago, so I’m trying to limit interventions that increase pain.
I can try pendulums for a while. I can try internal rotation movements. I can try lower trap and mid trap activating movements
Any ideas for approaching rehab of a tendinosis to improve other rotator cuff muscle function, in early phases of rehab and pain modulation, and any other ideas in general?
Thanks everyone :) I really appreciate you all and the good you do for the world.
submitted by Haunting_Revenue7808 to physicaltherapy [link] [comments]
He got an MRI a week ago (about 1.5 weeks after the tear) showing “infraspinatus tendinosis”, pain in his shoulder has improved since the event at the gym. He has done workouts in the gym since then with no real change in his symptoms, per his report.
Upon exam, he had some scapular winging on eccentric phase shoulder flexion AROM, with some increase in anterior GH pain at about 90 degrees, so started him on serratus activation via wall slides, progressed to high plank to pike transitions with good effect and less pain upon retesting.
AROM into abduction and flexion actually look really good otherwise.
Resisted isometrics for GH ER at 0 abduction are painful on involved side.
Posterior capsule mobs help reduce pain.
Also started on ER reactive isometrics, which have been painful. Even sidelying ER iso holds are painful. I’m thinking next session I will just try wall iso in standing if need be to get the infrapinatus functioning better, since he will need it.
I’m sure he still has some joint effusion from the tear 2.5 weeks ago, so I’m trying to limit interventions that increase pain.
I can try pendulums for a while. I can try internal rotation movements. I can try lower trap and mid trap activating movements
Any ideas for approaching rehab of a tendinosis to improve other rotator cuff muscle function, in early phases of rehab and pain modulation, and any other ideas in general?
Thanks everyone :) I really appreciate you all and the good you do for the world.
2024.04.24 19:04 HardFlaccidSyndrome0 Supplementary Tables
2024.04.23 21:49 Spirit198 Few Question On Overcoming Isometrics
Hi
For those who likes to play with isometrics and have mony to afford it https://www.ascendlabs.com.au/ whit in few years i see it comes to big play, training by force like you have VBT.
P.s. Why everybody says its to taxing on CNS in chalisthenics and gymnastics they hold position like iso holds but when fatigue sets in they must active pushing to stay in position and when practicing new move and there is not time specifics lile 5 sec. and do that almost any day few times a day, remember one gymnast who first time BP 145kg at BW 65kg calisthenics are strong in upper body all of doing holds push pull isometrics.
submitted by Spirit198 to isometric_fitness [link] [comments]
- For how long big results can be seen when using maximal overcoming isometric, some say up to a month depends ont training frquency then start to show smaller increase in strength?
- Is maximal overcoming isometric done at long muscle legths has better carryover to short length then done in reverse ( saw some choaches from weight lifting and powerlifting advocate using over iso at short lengths or in multiple positions, about carryover i think and resrch show that 10° to 25° does not works for every musle it is more specific to muscle trained way of training ( time intens muscle length)?
- Maximal overcomin isometric for hypertrophy (duration of effort, type of hypertrophy miofibrilar or sacroplasmatic, how it works because there is no movement and still tension is big with max effort and there is no Dooms like in dynamic training) its not impossibile to hold for longer time but effort is har to sustain for let's say 40 sec. can it be done with multiple position with 10 sec. efforts 3 positioms 3 efforts 10 sec. each is 90 sec. total?
- I found 10 sec. by position optimal for me some athlets with higher Rfd reach peak soner then other s around 2.5 to 5 sec but 10 sec. feel fine to me, my question: is it better to hold 2x5 sec. and reach peak two times or 10 sec. all in one effort and rest time?
- More info about strength gains neural component and mehanical muscle fibers, for how long muscle stays activated (from older books after 20 min. 90% of strength is back after max effort and activation duration is approx 24 hours) what type of energy system does it use ATP, after how long in max effort fast twitches fibers are exosted to higher degree?
For those who likes to play with isometrics and have mony to afford it https://www.ascendlabs.com.au/ whit in few years i see it comes to big play, training by force like you have VBT.
P.s. Why everybody says its to taxing on CNS in chalisthenics and gymnastics they hold position like iso holds but when fatigue sets in they must active pushing to stay in position and when practicing new move and there is not time specifics lile 5 sec. and do that almost any day few times a day, remember one gymnast who first time BP 145kg at BW 65kg calisthenics are strong in upper body all of doing holds push pull isometrics.
2024.04.23 11:27 RomainMazB Teardrops of Mylen
 | Teardrops of MylenThe first roleplay forum really coupled with a browser based game designed like a TTRPG with DnD dice mechanism in mind.This simple description made you feel curious? Join our Discord. If not yet, continue reading! The same links will be available on the end of this speech! What makes this project uniqueThis web application is a roleplaying website with two main purposes:
The game is set up like a massively multiplayer TTRPG: a tiled map and various tokens. The main tokens are movement and action tokens, respectively 24 and 6 tokens reloaded gradually throughout the day which make the daily game time under 5 minutes (even under one if you want to be quick). An endless gameThe game basically never ends, there is no ultimate goal to reach that would end the game. Even "dying" from an enemy hit will just leave you on the floor and you can wait for an ally resurrection or choose to call your god reincarnate you to the map respawn area.Instead of a final goal, there is a competition system based on various statistics when you perform your actions. Many of these statistics are attached to a variety of pictograms that you collect with multiple rarity. Some pictograms are even distributed manually after winning a roleplaying contest or as a thank you for your participation in reporting bugs or suggestions. I need all of youI can talk for hours about the web development process or graphical AI generation, but roleplaying and community management is not my cup of tea.That is why I need a passionate community to actively participate in this project.I need players to make the forum and the game live, of course.But I also need people who want to actively participate behind the scenes like: improving the rules, organize roleplaying contests on the forum, getting new players feedback and answering their questions, help me to organize the community discord server, ... Want to participate?As of today, we are about to release an alpha test version this week to track down some bugs and get feedback about the game. To participate, you can join the Discord server and we'll give you the early access to the development environment so you can already create your character.Visual readers, here are some pics of the project.GameboardCharacter public profile page with pictograms to collect Character's actions history Ranking system Roleplay forum post |