Food over medication

neilbrem

Hello, I have been fit most all my life. An athelete in high school and college at about 165 lbs. Stabilized in my 30s around 180 lbs with running and resistance training (I was 5'11"). Now approaching 60 years old, I had a serious accident 3 years ago and ruptured L1, L2, L3 and L4. I am down to 5'9" and now up to 220 lbs. I don't like pills and have used food to soothe the pain. But its a really bad combo, bad back, extra weight.

Looking to get back down to 180 in 6 months. But I will need to find better ways to cope with physical pain, and some new way to exercise... running is a thing of the past.

Any similar stories? Tell me about your roadmap back to health.

AnnPT77

Hello, and welcome to the Community!

I haven't experienced anything that extreme, and it was a different route, but I can understand the issue of (re-)building fitness and vitality after challenges. Unlike you, I wasn't an athlete when I was young: I was a bookish, blob-ish kid. I lost some weight in college (mostly from effect of job and walk/bike transportation on calorie balance), but regained steadily in my 20s and beyond when I got a desk job. I wasn't routinely active, and I was fat, often over the line into obese BMI.

In my mid-40s, I was diagnosed with stage III (locally advanced) breast cancer, and the treatment (surgery, chemo, radiation) was very depleting physically. It was only after treatment that I became routinely active, as an effort to get back some strength and vitality (maybe even happiness). By then, I had at least one torn meniscus, osteoarthritis in various joints, some issues with upper body scar tissue from surgery/radiation, etc., and eventually osteopenia/osteoporosis related to treatment.

Via gradual increases in the challenge of exercise, cautiously experimenting with what I could do and what made things worse, I feel like I've made pretty decent progress, and am in decent shape for a li'l ol' lady (age 67) - fitter than average for sure.

I don't know what exercise will work for you, since I have zero experience with that type of spinal issue. Have you been able to access physical therapy for guidance on what type(s) of exercise are safe and effective for you? (I've gotten a lot of good from physical therapy along the road.)

Other modalities that have helped me are osteopathic treatments (at a clinic at a major university, where my doctor is a medical professor as well as a clinical pracitioner), professional massage (from people with sports-med credentials), and even one round of acupuncture that was helpful, in addition (of course) to other relevant medical treatments. Every time I consult one of those kinds of professionals, I pepper them with questions to build my knowledge of what I can/can't or should/shouldn't do (and how to do things). For example, from them I learned stretches and strengthening moves that would help improve my muscular balance, limit further injury, remediate what was improvable, etc.
It's been a process, but there's been progress.

Your specifics will vary, but I'll say a little about myself in an attempt at a thought-process about progress in the face of some limitations.

I can't (don't) run, either - my knees don't tolerate it. I learned by cautious experiment that impact and torque on my knees were bad things, but that straight-line hinging motions were OK. Therefore, my main cardiovascular activities are rowing (boats when I can, machines when I must), and cycling (trails on
bike in season, stationary in Winter). I can do some lifting, but avoid certain exercises because of shoulder issues. And so forth.

The weight loss for sure will help you, and that's all about getting the calorie balance right - even without an increase in exercise or other activity. I'd been active for over a decade, staying overweight/obese alongside training most days and even competing as an athlete (rowing - not always unsuccessfully, either, in age group terms). I didn't much change exercise to lose weight, just controlled the calorie intake better through calorie counting (and trying to get good overall nutrition to support activity). In less than a year, I was at a healthy weight, and have been at a healthy weight for 7+ years since. (So much less joint pain as a consequence.)

Obviously, I don't have any specific advice on your situation, but I know there are others here who've had issues more similar to yours. My point is to try to be encouraging, to say that progress and improved outcomes are possible for nearly everyone, with patience, persistence, problem-solving along the way.

Wishing you excellent results!