Any workout video suggestions for someone w/injury?

uortian

Greetings! I broke my leg/ankle last summer and had a couple of surgeries on it, alongside some physical therapy. With that said, I am still limping slightly even though it's been a year since I broke it. I also put on some weight due to the injury and want to lose it in order to help out my injury, and of course, to get healthy again. I am wondering if there are any workouts, etc. that anyone can recommend that will not be too high-impact? A friend of mine mentioned Pilates, which I've never done before. I live out in the "boonies" and nowhere near a gym that gives classes or anything, so if anyone can suggest a video, You Tube links, and so on, I would greatly appreciate it. Also, any other tips you can give me would be fantastic.

Thanks!

sugaree1202

Ouch!

I feel for you - I broke my ankle 3 years ago and the main nerve in my leg was cut during the surgery to put in plates & screws. I put on a lot of weight - especially since I stopped working out after rolling my ankle 2 years ago and going back on crutches. I have a limp too, can't run and have difficulty with stairs, uneven ground, etc due to the numbness in my foot and pain in my ankle from the nerve damage.

I was very active prior to my injury and still manage to do high Iimpact cardio like TurboFire & Zumba by modifying the moves & putting a lot of my weight on my good leg since I know the pain in my leg doesn't mean I'm hurting myself,. It just depends on how much pain I'm willing to deal with.

Maybe start out with swimming? That will take the weight off your leg and give you a great workout. From what I remember, Jillian Michaels' Banish Fat Boost Metabolism had some plyo moves I could modify but was mostly squats & floor exercises. Tracy Anderson's Metamorphosis has lots of toning classes that can easily be modified around your leg without reducing intensity but the daily cardio video was way too much jumping for me and I found her to be boring. ChaLean Extreme is heavy weights to get super toned, lean muscles (women won't bulk up) and needed minimal modification except for the weekly cardio.

Have you asked you doctor or PT about limitations on the types of exercises you can do? I hope you find something that works for ypu!

uortian

SUGAREE:

Greetings! First of all, it sounds like you completely understand how I am feeling. It stinks to hear people say, "Should you be limping after a whole year?" Ankle injuries are supposedly the worst, too. I have about 10 screws in my ankle and leg, alongside a rod. I am lucky in that no nerves were damaged in the surgeries; however, it just isn't all that comfortable. I always tell people, "I can feel the metal through my skin." Again, not many people understand.

As much as I love to swim, I am nowhere near any water. We moved to a small town that has a public pool, yet it's always filled with tons of kids. (And who could blame them? It's hotter than Hades here!) There are no lap swimming hours or anything, which stinks. I will definitely try the workout videos you suggested. I am currently using the elliptical machine at my house, but I feel like I need more to do.

And when I finally go to my doctor for my year's appointment, I will ask him if there are any suggestions that he has for me. I doubt he will tell me to take it easy. He's one of the San Antonio Spurs doctors and expected me to be back on my feet within weeks of my first surgery! He mentioned playing basketball, running, and rock climbing...things I didn't even do before my injury! So, I'm sure he will love your idea of Zumba, etc!

Again, thank you for all the good suggestions! I will be researching them when I get off of MFP!

sugaree1202

That's ridiculous there are no lap hours at the local pool! One of the pools here would let people in an hour before they opened to the public to swim laps and most pools are pretty empty the first few hours after they open.

I compketely get what you're going through - it's a real crappy situation to be in. I still have family members that don't get nerve damage doesn't go away and ask me repeatedly why I limp, can't go up & down stairs etc. even my mother insists I should be able to get my nerve fixed. I know it's frustrating but ignore them! They don't understand that all injuries don't heal perfectly in x amount of time. I can feel the screws in my leg too - I have 9 and an 18 inch plate - it is very uncomfortable. Some doctors will remove the hardware depending on the injury especially if it's bothering you but they usually wait 2 years post injury. Removing mine would putmy nerve pain back where Iit was the day of the surgery - which was the most horrific pain I've ever felt so my hardware isn't going anywhere.

If you pain is caused by the hardware irritating you, the more you move, the more your body will become desensitized to it. It really sucks at first and can take awhile but it will get better. Physical therapists have a desensitization box that blows warm sawdust-like material around the area to help move the process along. Have you asked your doctor about treating the pain? Lidoderm patches work really well, only numb where the patch is and don't have the side effects of pain meds but some insurance companies won't cover them since they're expensive.

If your doctor clears you for activity, I would do whatever you feel comfortable with. It helps me to modify exercises in a way that I minimize the movement of my ankle joint on my right leg because of the nerve damage and the plate which reduced my normal range of movement. It took a few weeks of carefully doing Zumba everyday but eventually I didn't have to think about the movements anymore and could get in a good workout without causing too much extra pain. I also had to look at my feet so I don't roll my ankle since I can't feel my right foot but that became habit too. Once I could move better, I started more intense cardio videos. I do plyo, jumps and lunges by landing on my good leg and still get the benefits on an intense workout. Doing activities that use your arms - like punches - will help get your heart rate up without the strain on your leg. I like TurboFire because there is a girl modifying all the moves to maintain intensity but at a lower impact and it uses a lot of upper body moves so I can minimize the leg movements on bad days but still get my heart rate up. It's gonna hurt regardless of what I do, I might as well get the most out of it.

The muscles in your injured leg have atrophied while you were on crutches. It's so important to rebuild those muscles. Even 3 years later, my right leg isn't as strong as my left as I put more weight on my left. If you're taking pain medication, it will slow your metabolism causing weight gain even eating within a "normal" calorie range, plus you're burning less due to a decreased activity level. I didn't workout for 2 years and gained 2 pounds a month eating lower than what would be considered maintenance level for my height so I should have lost weight slowly but gained because my metabolism is non-existent - I wasn't this big when I was pregnant. The only way I don't gain is if I watch what I eat and exercise and then weight loss is very slow but it's better than gaining. The less activity I did, the easier it became to remain inactive - especially since it hurt to walk or exercise. Then I felt bad for myself because I gained weight and couldn't do the activities I used to and just didn't do anything. Trust me - take advantage of the motivation you have to get more active and get moving. Some days will be better than others and some days will just suck but it will be worse if you don't do any physical activity. Message me anytime! Good luck

Genetic_tea_drinker

I'd see the physiotherapist if you can before looking into workout videos. Then you can find out what you can and can't do it will be easier to narrow it down

kevinjb1

I can feel you pain too. After I broke my fibula my two leg bones decided to fuse together at the break point. So anything I do transfers some of the weight into my fibula, which isn't supposed to happen and is quite painful. I also have a plate and five screws keeping it togeher. So now when I do high impact exercises for too long my ankle will ache and swell. I've busted my knee three times also so I've been through rehab more times then I'd like to remember.

I wasn't able to run for years, but now that i've lost some weight I can tell it's much easier on my ankle and I am able to run on dirt trails now without much trouble.

You're elliptical machine should be great for your cardio work outs, but you need to rebuild the mucles in your lower leg and I'm not sure that's the best avenue for that. Swimming may not help much either. You have to target the area with specific exercises to build strength back into the joint. I would suggest doing yoga and/ or pilates to help build up strength and flexibility in the joint, but only if you can do it without pain. Discomfort is normal, but sharp pains are a no-no.

You may also want to consider upping your protein intake and eating at maintenance for a few weeks to allow your body to build the muscle you need in your legs. It's impossible for your body to build new muscle when you are eating at a deficit.

Only if you can, stand at a bottom step and do some calf raises. Start by doing both feet together and as you feel stronger then try to do them on leg at the time. Make sure you have something to hold on to if you lose your balance.

Do you have any resistance bands? It's something your physical thereapist could provide or tell you where to find. You can have someone hold a one for you looped over your foot while you lay on the bed with your foot hanging off the side. Twist your foot to each side and up and down with resistance from the band. That will help strenghen all the mucles in your lower leg. Since you've been through rehab you probably know all of these exercises already, but if you are having pain and a limp you're legs still aren't strong enough and high impact exercises could actually make matters worse.

Here is a great video for what I am talking about. Youtube has a wealh of information on rehabbing an injury.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Rssq3c9fE

Good luck to you!