Chronic Pain, Shmonic Pain! How Stella...errrrr...JANET Got Her Groove Back

So Shane asked that I provide my input to the blog after I dropped him a line to tell him how I have so enjoyed reading all the other entries. Everyone has had some really inspiring stories and advice. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone in my quest to find fitness again!

It’s a well known fact that as you age, your body goes through changes. Some of them good; some not so much. I just didn’t think it would happen to me so soon! At some point in my late thirties I began to feel like a car that reaches a certain mileage then starts breaking down every time you turn the ignition. For most of my life I have been active and physically fit. During my school years I was a cheerleader, a dancer, and ran track. In my twenties and beyond, I was heavily involved with Tae Kwon Do, Tae Bo, weight training, walking, jogging, yadda, yadda, yadda. Check out those abs for crying out loud! Are you kidding me?!?!


And that was at age 34 after two babies! So what happened? At some point after the age of 36, my body ran into some road blocks:

Spinal Issues

In a nut shell, I have three degenerative disks in my neck, a displaced vertebrae, bone spurs, pinched nerves, and nerve damage. I have had several MRI and CT scans of my neck, and consulted with a neurologist and other doctors. The answer is the same. I’m too young for the invasive surgery and my problem isn’t “bad enough” yet for them to consider the surgery at my age. Even though my left arm tingles and goes numb on a daily basis and I deal with varying degrees of pain in my neck 24/7, the neurologist informed me that I just have to deal with it “like the other millions of Americans that deal with chronic pain every day” as he handed me three prescriptions for a pain killing cocktail. I was pissed! I wanted it fixed, there had to be something they could do. For the love of all that’s holy, how bad does it have to get?!?

So I filled the scripts and took the pain meds. They helped with the pain, but caused other adverse side effects of feeling lethargic, exhaustion, and weight gain. I found myself driving my desk at work all day, driving home from work; then driving the couch for the rest of the night. I was wallowing in a foggy haze of self pity as I slipped into the trap of a sedimentary lifestyle due to chronic pain. If you hurt, you sure as hell don’t want to move, right? How on God’s green earth could I possibly re-gain my active lifestyle and even consider working out, when getting through a day of normal activity was hard enough? For the better part of a year, this was how I lived my life…and my weight just kept increasing.


Here’s the deal with pain killers: the more you take them, the more you need them. It’s a vicious cycle that is all too easy to get sucked into. If you take them for any length of time, your brain will actually convince your body that you are in more pain than you really are. Prolonged use of the opiate type pain killers decreases the brain's ability to tolerate pain, and increases one's sensitivity to pain. It’s a phenomenon called opioid- induced hyperalgesia. After reading an article about this, I asked my doctor at my next visit to prescribe me some physical therapy instead of pills (the fact that I had to initiate this suggestion is sad quite frankly, but I digress). A few simple exercises helped, and I was able to wean myself off of the pain killers until I no longer needed them. I still have problems with my neck and I suppose I always will. But when it gets bad, I resume the stretching and exercises I learned in physical therapy, hot baths help too, and I control the pain with Advil or Tylenol only…nothing stronger. Even on bad days, this alleviates some of the pain. And just when I thought I was on the right track and ready to start working on my fitness…..

Bad Knees

I inherited bad joints from my dad. I have a bad ankle that has been broken twice, sprained and ligaments torn a thousand times over again. But even worse are my little ol knees. My knees suck! I have cartilage problems that were present even at a young age; however, it didn’t slow me down back then. When I was young, I used to use the extreme popping in my right knee as a novelty act at slumber parties. It was always a great way to gross out my friends and make them squirm…”Hey, listen to this everyone!” Cupping my hands around my knee as I bent it repeatedly amplified the sound so that it was loud enough to hear from a room away, thus increasing the “ick” factor. I remember my mom always used to say “You’re gonna have arthritis in that knee one of these days” and as much as it pains me to say this…mom was right! I have arthritis in both of my knees but my right one has been exacerbated by two injuries involving torn cartilage. The first injury occurred in my early 30’s. Nothing exciting…I simply squatted and tore cartilage and surrounding tissue. It took over a year to recover, but after several months of physical therapy, it did improve for the most part and I was able to resume my active lifestyle.

The second injury was a different story. It involved an altercation between my high heel shoe and my Capri pants…I still blush with humiliation every time I think about it. It happened shortly after getting my neck in a better place and this time required surgery to remove damaged cartilage, followed by months of excruciating physical therapy.

(My entire right leg after knee surgery was swollen from my hip to my toes and discolored from iodine. One word...cankle! The knee was too gnarly to photograph...it looked like a small pumpkin.)


Unfortunately, the surgery did not solve every problem with my knee, and actually created other issues. My surgeon said he has done all he can do without another surgery to completely remove and replace all of my cartilage. It’s a newer procedure, and it’s a big surgery…with big recovery…and I’m not ready for that yet. I have had other surgical procedures and the knee surgery has proven to be the most painful and is the hardest to recover from. Although it is in my future, I have decided to put that off for as long as feasibly possible as I don’t have time right now for all that down time. As such, I have to deal with chronic pain in my knee as well.

This time, however, I refused to allow this set back take me back to the place of “woe goes me I can’t work out anymore” and was determined to find a way to fit exercise and fitness back into my life. After the experience with my neck, I was convinced that movement helps chronic pain. This is a fact that any doctor or physical therapist will confirm.

Physical therapy was the catalyst to re-introducing exercise into my life. I started slow, and worked my way up and have found a variety of ways to modify workouts to avoid aggravation to my knee or my neck. I can no longer run, walk for long periods, or kick ass with my sweet Tae Kwon Do moves without my knee swelling up like a grape fruit. And I can no longer “windmill” my hair at rock concerts or work awesome “hair-ography” into my dancing without the risk of being placed in traction. But through other methods, I have lost 25 pounds and 4 pant sizes so far! I feel better and stronger than I have in a LONG time! Can I get a Woot Woot! I have more energy and muscle definition, and even though I still have more to lose, my ideal weight is finally within reach.

(Before)


(After)


I have had several people ask me how I’m doing it. So without further adieu, I’d like to share some of what I have learned:

1) First and foremost…if you are having continuous pain anywhere in your body, consult with your doctor immediately. Do not put it off like I did, it will only delay your recovery. Ask the doctor about physical therapy even if he/she doesn’t mention it as an option. I’m obviously not a physician, so some of the things that worked for me may not be appropriate for your situation. However, don’t let pain stop you from moving! Moving equals less pain, even if it hurts at first. So unless your doctor has ordered you to bed-rest, get your ass in gear and talk to your doctor about your options!

2) Start with small muscle conditioning exercises. Do not worry about cardio in the beginning, as you will have plenty of time to add that after you gain some strength. It’s important to be patient and go at your own pace. For instance, with my knee, we began with a variety of leg lifts and leg extensions at low repetitions then increased the repetitions at each session. We later added ankle weights, a pound at a time, and worked our way up as the exercises got easier. Even if your issues are skeletal, conditioning and strengthening the muscles around the skeletal issue will help take stress off of the joint, which means less pain!

3) Eat Healthier. Allow me to reiterate what other blog posts have already stated: the only sure fire way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in. Don’t diet, or deprive yourself, as eventually you will binge. I still eat pizza every now and then when I get a hankering. I just started eating healthier foods that are lower in calories instead crappy, fried or processed foods, and exercised portion control. Trust me when I say that once you do this, the crappy foods you have been eating will not even taste good (with the exception of pizza that is). The healthier you eat, the better and less sluggish you will feel.

4) Pilates are the shit! If you are not familiar with Pilates and you suffer from chronic pain, you should get edumacated as soon as possible. Pilates is a body conditioning routine that builds long, lean muscles, strength and endurance. It puts emphasis on spinal and pelvic alignment, breathing to relieve stress while allowing oxygen flow to muscles, developing a strong core (abs and back), and improving coordination and balance. The exercises can be modified in a range of motions from beginning to advanced. Intensity can be increased over time as you get stronger. This type of workout does not place heavy strain or shock on your joints as a lot of the moves are done on the floor. It’s all about breathing, relaxing and toning those muscles! Try it once. You will be surprised at how amazing you feel afterwards! And you don’t have to join a gym; I use a Pilates DVD that works just fine. Sure, there are certain moves that I can’t do. The key is to do what you can, modify what you can, and if you can’t modify, skip the moves that hurt. You will still get a great workout.

5) Yoga, Yoga, Yoga! Did I mention Yoga? Yoga is a little more intense than Pilates, but it’s a really AWESOME way to ramp up the muscle toning without high impact aerobic activity that may hurt your joints. As with Pilates, there are certain poses that I can not do. I have found ways to modify the ones that are too hard on my knees though and I still get a great workout! If you take a class somewhere, let your instructor know what your limitations are and they can provide an alternate pose. I use a Yoga DVD, as I prefer to make an ass of myself in the privacy of my own home! So through trial and error I found what worked for me when encountering a troublesome pose.

6) Elliptical Machine or Stationary Bike. The elliptical and bike machines are a great way to fit some cardio in without heavy impact to your joints. These machines work really well for a lot of people with joint problems. I personally can not always work out on these machines. Sometimes, the circular motion irritates my knee and causes undesirable catching and grinding. But that’s me. So depending on your limitations, you may want to start slow to see how well you tolerate it.

7) Dancing. Yes, sweet Jesus, I can still dance! I’m not ready to audition for “So You Think You Can Dance” or anything, but I still got some moves. I have had to re-learn how to do some of those moves, and for a while after my surgery, I looked like Bambi trying to walk for the first time! But I’ve gotten better and sometimes, when I’m all alone, I turn on some Tina Turner and just shake it like a Polaroid pictcha! No jumping around mind you, just shakin the rump. I have found that wiggling your hips and shakin your ASSets is a really good way to get your core in shape. I always feel it afterwards in my waist, abs, hips, thighs and rear. Plus, it’s a lot of fun, so it doesn’t feel like a work out.


8) Swimming and Water Aerobics. I have not personally tried this yet, but am scouting out classes as we speak (or type). Shane actually suggested this one to me. Why I hadn’t thought of it sooner is beyond me. So, after I give it a go, I will provide a full report of my experience! It makes sense that this would be an ideal work out for anyone who has chronic pain. The water in water aerobics and lap swimming supports the body and reduces the risk of muscle or joint injury while still providing muscle resistance and a good cardio work out. So friends and neighbors, this will be me in the very near future! I’ll let you know how it goes!


Please feel free to provide me with your input and ideas. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m on a mission to get my bod back! So any suggestions are welcome!