Hi everyone!
I wanted to be more positive for you guys pre-LLers. So here I'm going to post some very extreme stretching techniques to help you prepare for lengthening.
Regardless of what anyone's trying to sell you, you don't heal automatically from LL after reaching your height (the only thing automatic is your doctor's work is done at this point). After that, you have to regain muscle strength, bear weight, walk without crutches and finally regain your normal walking gait. And it takes time! It takes up to one year depending on how far you lengthen. Also, everyone is right, don't go beyond 6cm to be on the safe side. WHY?
Because while you can lengthen your femur bones, you cannot lengthen your soft tissues that fast. Hence, keep your lengthening rate SLOW. The slower you go, the less risk of non-union (watch your xrays every 2 weeks to ensure you've beautiful calluses that join). If you don't have them, STOP lengthening until calluses grow. Remember, the goal is not who can lengthen fastest, the goal is who can regain their normal life back fastest. And sometimes, slower is faster.
It reminds me of the time I went up Kilimanjaro with a troupe of about 10. And I was always put in front (first yay!) even though there were some expert climbers and rock solid guys behind me who were constantly complaining about our slow pace BECAUSE OF ME, the slow poke from Manhattan who didn't train for Kilimanjaro and cared more that all her North Face gear was matchy matchy in chic red and grey. When I finally asked the climbing guide why I was put in front, he said it's to ensure 100% success. Boy I felt amazing! Hah! Me, hero for once! And then he says, "To achieve 100% success rate, I put the weakest and slowest in front, that way everyone else behind her will be safe and will make it up the peak". What a blow to my self esteem! I could literally hear my ego puncture like a deflated balloon and farted away like a whoopie cushion. Hence, slower is sometimes faster! That's the motto!
Anyway, that said, I thought I'd dedicate this post to those who want to know what are the best ways to stretch because everyone knows that flexibility is key, but for what? It is not to make the lengthening faster, longer or more painless. It's for avoiding duck ass, lordosis, scoliosis etc because when your soft tissues cannot catch up with your new height, you become strung like a marionette. Basically, your hamstrings, quads, IT bands, psoas and illiacus are too short for your longer bones. So you end up crunched up with an anterior pelvis tilt which results in duck ass (lordosis), an inverted knee (genu valgum) and ballerina feet.
I've posted the IDEAL stretches and they look IMPOSSIBLE, but it's just a guide for you to achieve. The good news is soft tissues can be stretched out and it takes time and effort, exactly like homework. The more flexible you become, the longer you can lengthen and the less problems you'll have with recovery. So don't be discouraged with these impossible poses, I'm just showing you what end goal you wanna get to if you want to train hard for your lengthening. And there are other exercises if you google that will show you milder ways to get here. But the more you improve your flexibility, the better your LL experience will be
STRETCHING QUADS
STRETCHING HAMSTRINGS
STRETCHING PSOAS
STRETCHING IT BAND