Cathe - have you had any injuries?

W

Winter

Cathlete
Hi Cathe,

I was recently diagnosed with Osteitis Pubis (inflammation of the hip bone). I caused a sharp pain in my groin area. Something I can live with. Anyway the only way to heal is to rest. I did and I still have it. I think my hip\lower back area will always have some sort of pain. Had on surgery already.

I was wondering with all the high impact step you do if you have had any type of injuries where you had to rest and not exercise for awhile? If so did you do any exercise. I am not looking for medical advise on my own problem so don't worry about that.

It has been really hard to me to not work out especially when I am trying to lose weight and it makes me feel great. If I had to give up step (and you)I would be devastated.

Take Care,
Winter
 
I know Cathe had a knee injury but I think it was from a ski accident. She had surgery I'm pretty sure. That's the only thing I"ve ever known about.

I'll be waiting to hear from Cathe on this myself as I also have wondered about it too.

Edith
 
Hello everyone -- I'm a little curious myself if Cathe's had any recent injuries
I remember hearing about the knee injury.
I've taught areobics since 1990 and I've had everything from tennis elbow to meniscus tears. Having to lay off the exercise in order to heal is hard on the spirit, but it's necessary. I'm only 30 years old now and I have the beginnings of osteoarthritis because I didn't listen to my body in my younger days.
Take care of yourself! Have a beautiful day!
 
I"m suprised at the osteoarthritis if you did weight training? Or did you teach tons of aerobics and not much weights? I'm asking because I am having hard time getting weights in right now and need motiviation.

Edith
 
Cathe has posted that, in addition to her knee injury (I think she had her ACL surgically repaired), she also has recurrent achilles tendonitis.
 
For a good 5 or 6 years, it was aerobics only -- mostly the hi-impact floor aerobics. Some places didn't always have the best flooring. Also, I would often teach 3 or 4 classes a day, 6 days a week at 3-4 locations.
It's only when I quit teaching back in 2000 and I started working out for my own enjoyment and health that I focused more on the weight training -- I took much better care of myself, and I didn't have any more injuries.
My ankles are stiff and sore most mornings now... Some days are better than others. I wear shoes with good support always, and I warm up and cool down a little longer than most of my videos allow (I pause the tape for a few extra stretches).
 
I'm probably wrong, but I feel like she also broke her toe or foot sometime...
I probably dreamed that! I have the weirdest dreams :)
Wendy
 
I thought the ACL and knee were at the same time from the ski accident :-hmmm

OH CATHE where are you to tell us??? LOL


Edith
 
Yes, that's right. She had her ACL reconstructed after hurting her knee a ski accident. At least that's how I remember it.
 
if you look carefully on some of the strength training videos as Cathe does plie squats in shorts, you can see a faint line along the front of her left knee, presumably remaining scar from her surgery....

Clare
 
Edith,
Weight bearing activities (any type- even aerobics) will help to preserve bone density and prevent osteoporosis, not osteoarthritis. Any activity where you are consistently impacting your joints or forcing them to move along a plane of motion or track that is not in alignment with your individual body structure can cause wear and tear on the cartilage which cushions the joints, contributing to the development of osteoarthritis. That's one reason why everyone here always stresses using proper form, it prevents acute injuries as well as long term damage. It's not how much you can lift, it's how well you can lift it!:-jumpy
FitnessRN
 
Hi Winter! I actually have achilles tendonitis which flairs up from time to time if I find myself pushing it a bit too hard. I developed this very early on in my teaching years when aerobic and fitness classes were absolutely nothing like they are now. The only fitness shoe available at the time was the Reebok walking shoe and most aerobic/fitness certifications did not even exist at the time. Fitness classes did not contain the safety, education or structure that they do now and therefore injuries were much more common.

Back then, I worked for Elaine Powers and we all removed our shoes upon entering the spa and did the 12 minutes of cardio jumps during a 60 minute calisthenic routine in our socks. I also taught aqua aerobics in an outdoor cement pool. Again, at a time when there were no water shoes or fancy water gadgets to cushion the landing for barefeet on the cement pool floor. Many times the members could not see what my legs were doing in the water and I would get out of the water and do the routine on the concrete walkway around the pool so that they could follow the routine better(OUCH!!!). Needless to say, years of this unstructured teaching environment took its toll on my body.

Thank goodness those days are long over and more importantly thank goodness that these days the fitness industry is completely established and instructors have a wide variety of educational tools to work with and safety issues appropriately addressed.

I still find the achilles tendon sensitive at times since mine is a chronic condition, but I have learned what I need to do as soon as it flairs up to get it under control. That is ice, stretch, advil, a couple of days off, and then ease back in for the next three days before resuming my normal level of activity.

As for my ACL reconstruction (knee surgery), that was due to a skiing accident. That was a very long and painful recovery and set me back from my workouts for about 9 months.

:)
 
Thanks for your reply Cathe. I know your busy so respond to my next questions if you have time. Could you do any exercise in the 9 months you recovered from ACL reconstruction? How did you deal with it mentally. Did you lose muscle or gain weight? I have a feeling I will only be able to walk and maybe some upper body work and some abs for 3-6 months. Pretty frustrating.

Take Care. I hope to be doing the terminator in a few months. Your the best there is.

Winter
 
Hi Winter! Honestly, I was just happy to be able to walk after that surgery. Rehab was intensly painful and at one point I doubted that I was going to regain full recovery. It took very long just to be able to walk with a normal stride. Yes, I lost very much muscle in my leg but overall did not gain much weight. Mentally, all my energy was given to rehab at 4 days a week at a facility and the rest at home. Breaking through scar tissue in order to get just a smidgen more range of motion excellerated my heart rate quite a bit. This went on for a very long time. Then when I was getting better after about 4 months I added upper body weight training along with my leg rehab program. I had to do this in a very slow and controlled manner since I didn't have the mobility or balance to manage it in a typical fashion.

I think as you go through your recovery program you will manage and deal with what you have to better than you may imagine. It is when you are feeling good that you think you can't but when you are not feeling strong that you are motivated to do what it takes to get there. Good Luck!
 
Hi Cathe - I'm writing in response to a previous thread you had responded to regarding you having chronic Achilles Tendonitis. I have been having the same pain as you mention for at least 2 months. I do your step tapes at least 6 days/wk. alternating once in a while with the stairmaster and lifecycle. I just went to a sports medicine doctor who diagnosed me with Achilles Tendonosis. :-( Are you familiar with the differences between the two? Here's a brief synopsis: It is a breakdown in the tendon, with small focal lesions w/in the tendon w/o an inflammatory response. The degeneration means that the tendon does not possess its normal tensile strength and may be liable to rupture w/continued sporting activities. There is great information on these topics at PhysioRoom.com, in case you or anyone else is interested in checking it out.

In any case, he advised me to do pain free activities, such as the stairmaster and/or bike and continue weight training but to avoid doing what creates any pain (for me - doing the step, and even walking at times). I have to also attend physical therapy for a while, of which they will have me do 'eccentric exercises' for the problem. I know you have mentioned that you had rehabilitated your problem for about 6 months. During that time what did you do to keep in shape? Did you do any cardio, or just weight training? I am very upset that I cannot continue to do the step but I know that I am going to have to for a while b/c if I do not I run a great risk of tearing my Achilles tendon, which would set me back even longer. :-( I would greatly appreciate any feedback you can provide in regards to this problem. Thank you for your continued support.

-Deirdre-
 
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