Pain, Surgery, Never Squat Again.

These are some of the things my everyday clients are dealing with and some of the solutions given from their doc include:

“Don’t do it if it hurts”

“You’ll never squat again”

“Stick to low impact exercises like walking and aquatic exercise”

“You’re going to have to have a hip replacement down the line because you have some arthritis”

“You have the joints of a 60 year old in your 30s”

Doc’s, I love ya. I trust ya, but I can’t get on board with these statements. I also understand that a the same time, you are limited on how much time you are able to devote to a patient and that means you may have to be “to the point.” I don’t have solutions to offer at this moment except perhaps if a patient has a personal trainer of physical therapist, communicate with them directly and work on working together to come up with a plan that keeps a person moving.

If you are a client who exercises and lifts weights but you go to an ortho or doctor who doesn’t, often the advice they give you won’t align with the healthy and strong lifestyle you want to live. Not all of it and not all doctors fall into this category but, I’ve seen it many many times over the years.

Here’s a great story to illustrate something I’ve seen over and over:

I had a client one time who was dealing with organ prolapse. This can be a major problem when it comes to tons of exercises. There’s pain, uncertainty, and it’s a big hit to many of our client’s confidence.

Oftentimes, surgery is necessary. Other times, it isn’t. An expert in this area like Amanda over at Pender Pelvic Health and Physical Therapy would be a better resource for this as far as surgery necessity is concerned. Back to the story…

This client went to the doctor, and the doctor told her she wouldn’t be able to lift weights or do anything that caused any level of pressure “down there” as she put it. Well, there goes most everything in life. That advice not only confused our client but it also tanked her confidence. She was strong, fit, and generally confident in her abilities but now, she felt like she needed to quit everything physical until she could have surgery.

Luckily for her, we had a coach who had been through a similar experience and found a doctor who understood the importance of lifting weights and how the benefits far outweigh the risks. Even in women dealing with organ prolapse issues. So, our client was able to reach out to that coach and find out who that doctor was. After the initial visit to that doctor, everything changed. She was now filled with hope again. This new doctor told her specific exercises to be careful with, specific ways to approach certain exercises, and told her a few to lay off of until they went through the surgery.

She came in smiling from ear to ear after that appointment. It was like she had a new life. All because of a second opinion. We quickly got to work formulating a plan for her so she could continue getting stronger, but in a way that wasn’t going to further any issues she was dealing with. Based on the doctor’s advice. Then when the time was right, she had the surgery and when cleared, we got back to work!

We’ve had other clients dealing with different variations of autoimmune disorders and arthritis who were told not to strength train and sure enough, with the right guidance and approach, we are able to help them gain strength and confidence without making symptoms worse. In fact in many cases, symptoms get better overall.

I’m not here to speak negatively about any profession. I’m not one for lumping everyone in a profession together and speaking of them as one. In fact in my profession, folks are all over the place depending on opinions, experience, and education. Medical Doctors are no different although they are generally held to a much higher standard as well as trusted as the leading authority in a local area.

So if you can get anything from this blog today, I hope you get that a second opinion can be helpful. There are wonderful doctors and Physical Therapists out there that communicate well with us Fit Pros so that we can take a holistic approach to health.

Some great ones are Amanda and Ben Knauff at Pender Pelvic Health and Physical Therapy as well as Dr. Brittany over at Alpha Osteopractic. Mike at MOVE Physical Therapy is another great one as well. All three are local. All three communicate with doctors. All three have strength training experience and all three want to keep you moving when you go through a rehab program.

There is always hope and reason to move. So if you need a little help with that, we might be able to help.

Fill out the contact form over to the side of this blog and let’s schedule a time for you to meet with a coach. We will work hand in hand with your doctor and/or PT to make sure you can get as healthy as possible.