trying to work out with a physical disability

ser0630

I was wondering if there is anybody else here who has some kind of physical disability (or even an issue that might make working out difficult).

I'm asking because I have a permanent disability as the result of a severe injury. My left wrist acts like it's fused, but it's not. I had to have part of my left arm going up from the wrist reconstructed 6 years ago.

I feel kind of frustrated at times because I feel like no one understands, especially when talking to a personal trainer or anybody else, about how to modify certain exercises or just not being able to do certain exercises (i.e. push ups) because of my injury.

LJCannon

Many people have disabilitys or limitations of various kinds. In my opinion, a good trainer should be able to teach you to modify almost any exercise routine to accomodate the limitation WITHOUT making you feel bad. . You might google some exercises and see what you can find on your own.

cmsimps27

Maybe talk to a physical therapist instead of a personal trainer? I was hit by a car when I was in 7th grade, about 10 years ago and my knee is still messed up. I had to go to a physical therapist and they taught me exercises to keep my knee pain free. Just a thought...Hope you find the answers you need :-)

lee112780

I have a temp. problem in my chest. The cartilage gets inflamed when it moves too much ( deep breathing). This is the reason I have gained weight!
atleast u can do lots of cardio...and legs and butt

jtsmou

I have some permanent damage as well (spine and 3 joints + sciatica), and I should have modified my exercise routines years ago, but am only now getting around to it after a decade of packing on the pounds.

I trained my share of people with disabilities back when I was hardcore before all the injuries, and I didn't "get it" either till I was in the situation myself.

Physical therapy would definitely be a plus.

Keep in mind that it is up to you to find your own range of motion vs limitation. I had some well meaning trainer try to force me into positions and motions that I wasn't ready or able to sustain once, and I ended up flat on my back for a month after that.

misspenny762

I can't do crunches or situps because of my hip dysplasia. It sucks, but I've added yoga which focuses on my core to my workout routine to compensate.

I'm not supposed to run either, but I do... oops.

themommie

I know how hard it can be, I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue which make it very hard to exercise, but I do what I can.I gained a ton of weight by not doing anything because of the pain and landing myself in bed at times. Then I decided a little is better then nothing and I started doing just a little bit and I keep trying to do just a little more each week.Just do what you can it is better then nothing

ser0630

The biggest issue I've had with personal trainers is trying to get them to understand that I don't have much at all as far as range of motion and grip strength. I know what I am able to do as far as those limitations go in regards to the exercises I can do. I also know that pushups on the floor are basically out of the question. Another thing that would frustrate me was to get them to understand how serious this injury was. I had a couple of personal trainers tell me at the gym I went to that if I wasn't willing to increase the weight I was using working out with free weights and increasing the weight on the weight machines for upper body exercises, that I was basically wasting their time. I use mostly 5 lb dumbbells because I know I won't aggravate the tendonitis I have in that wrist, on a good day, I can go up to 8 lbs...but that doesn't happen very often. For weight machines, it depends on the machine I'm using for upper body. I have a couple of friends who are now personal trainers, but they don't live in the same state I do. I sent an e-mail to someone who I went to high school with who I know works out regularly and is going to school right now for sports medicine to see if he might have some suggestions.

After the injury (I shattered 2 inches of the radius bone and basically tore up most of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in my left hand and wrist) and the reconstruction surgery, I spent 18 months in occupational and hand therapy. Six months after the injury and first surgery, I asked the therapist who I was working with about what would I be able to do as far as any kind of strength exercises and she told me that I should just focus on doing cardio because there was no way of knowing how much use of my left hand and wrist I was going to get back. I have had 3 more surgeries since my first surgery for ruptured tendons. I have had some serious muscle atrophy in my left arm as a result (I've been able to build some of that muscle back, but there is still somewhat of a difference in my forearms).

After reading everyone's responses, I don't feel so frustrated as I did before. I am still apprehensive about going to find a personal trainer, considering the experiences I've had. That's also part of the reason why I really don't like working out at gyms.
Thanks! I am relieved to hear that I'm not the only one.