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“I felt like the doctor did not understand where I was coming from…”

“I felt like the doctor did not understand where I was coming from…”

by | May 14, 2019 | Back Pain, Injury, Injury Prevention, knee pain, Ladies, lifts, Neck Pain, Running, running help, strength training, Uncategorized, working with injury

By Loni Rodriguez,

Physical Therapist

 

Do you know what fires me up more than anything? It’s hearing a story from a client that begins with… “I felt like the doctor did not understand where I was coming from.”

 

You may not know this story, but I dealt with hip and low back pain for just over 2 years when I was going through graduate school. It came on gradually while running one day on the treadmill. It was sharp, came on strong and would not let go. It gradually persisted and ultimately led me to have to stop running all together. It derailed me and created a borderline depression around the fact that I was unable to exercise like I had wanted to. I went from running almost every day to dealing with persistent hip pain that I would feel first thing in the morning and be with me until the minute I went to bed. I would wake up wondering if it would just go away…

How I was going to be able to go out with friends? Sit at a baseball game? Go shopping? Play football with friends on the beach? It consumed me.

 

I went to a plethora of doctors and physical therapists, had injections, saw specialists and was convinced that my hip required surgery because one MRI found a cartilage tear. I was constantly searching for answers to the cause of my symptoms and coming up short time and time again. Fast forward 7 years, symptoms have improved dramatically and I no longer deal with persistent pain. I feel stronger and more resilient than ever… so what can I contribute it to? That is a question I do not have the answer to… yet, but is not the point of my story. I am not going to tell you I have the magic answer to solve all persistent pain like this… But I am damn sure I know what would have helped me along the way.

 

Looking back on this, I realized one common piece that I was missing. I didn’t have a healthcare provider that told me that I was going to get through this and they were going to guide me… that is all I wanted, someone to tell me they would lead me on a path to feeling better and more confident in my hip.

 

At 21 I had one person – a doctor, surgeon and low back pain specialist tell me that I was going to be dealing with pain for the rest of my life. I remember crying in my car after the session, not because I thought he was right, but because I knew he was wrong. I was more upset because I knew he was going to be giving that same screwed up advice to all the other poor souls in the waiting room. I knew that I had a better understanding of pain and did not want to take that answer as my fate.

 

I wanted someone to listen to my entire story and not seem like the details were obsolete. I remember creating a pain log to show one of my providers and they didn’t even look at it.  Finally, overtime I gradually improved and found my way of returning to exercise – running, lifting weights, competing in CrossFit and running races without even thinking about my hip or low back. This took time and hard work, but I made it.

 

This is not how an experience with a medical professional should be. You should 110% be involved in your own plan and be guided in that direction.

 

Have you ever had an experience with this? Have you ever been a fly on the wall in this situation with a family member? How many times have you or someone you know had to accompany a family member at a doctors appointment because you do not remember what they said.

 

I would love to hear YOUR story…

 

It does not have to be like this!  Seek other advice from someone who listens.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read and have an awesome rest of the week!

 

Dealing with Pain During a Workout

Dealing with Pain During a Workout

by | Nov 19, 2018 | Back Pain, Exercise advice, Injury, Injury Prevention, knee pain, lifts, squats, working with injury

What to do when you are having pain during a workout?

Have you ever just left the gym or class when pain starts to occur? How annoying is that?! First off, you didn’t get a workout in, second, you might have hurt yourself… I hope not, and third, what do you do now? Should you go back to the gym tomorrow? Take a week off?

I really would like this post to come across the right way. I am by no means, telling you it is okay to push through any significant pain while exercising.  What I would like to do is to provide a guideline of what to do when pain comes on during a workout.

Before I get into the guideline, there is one major exception:

*If you actually feel like you had an injury, as in, there was an EVENT that caused your pain, please stop exercising and seek medical attention*

Eg.

  • if you fall off the treadmill, and feel a pop or snap in a joint followed by severe pain
  • if you hit your head
  • if something occurs and you notice immediate swelling and pain

…you get the point

What this guideline is NOT…

  • A way to treat your pain
  • A way to continue to exercise multiple sessions in a row without seeing guidance from a medical provider
  • A way to avoid formally dealing with your injury

Point being… please seek medical advice to really help your issue!

In the meantime, I want you to be able to have some understanding of how to allow training to continue despite some pain vs taking time off.

First… reduce the weight

  • Try using a lighter weight, but continue the movement as prescribed.
  • If the reps continue to be painful…

Next… slow it down

  • Keep the weight and try using performing the movement slowly.
  • If the reps continue to be painful…

Next… change the range of motion

  • Keep the weight,  return to a normal speed and limit how far you go into the movement being performed.

Finally… vary the movement

  • There are various ways to perform different exercises.
  • You can continue to get the same training effect while performing the movement in a slightly different way.

Here are a few examples of how you can vary the workout if you are experiencing pain during specific movements:

Knee pain with squatting?

  1. Reduce the load
  2. Alter the tempo – 3 seconds down, 3 seconds up
  3. Reduce the range of motion – Squat to a box or a bench
  4. Change the movement – go from front squats or goblet squats to a back squat

Back pain with deadlifting?

  1. Reduce the load
  2. Alter the tempo – try a quick lift from the floor and a slow lower
  3. Reduce the range of motion – Lift from an elevated surface (blocks or plates)
  4. Change the movement – go from a barbell to a hex bar or kettlebell

Use this to help keep yourself training, but PLEASE… also seek medical advice. There are many other things to be done in order to get you back to being pain-free during workouts… most of the time, it’s more exercise! Not rest.