Exercising With Chronic Pain

westerngirl87
westerngirl87 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 26 years old. About a year and a half ago I was struck by a car while standing on a sidewalk. I was slammed into the building. It broke my pelvis in two places, severed my femoral artery, and broke my femur. I'm now full of metal and screws. I have a range of motion in my leg of about 105 out of a total range of 120ish degrees. On a scale of one to ten I am always around a six when it comes to pain.

My leg has lost muscle mass. When I work out I may not be able to go for the next few days due to the pain. I'm not super overweight. I am probably 15 lbs overweight. I'm 5' 3", but mostly muscle.

I am getting discouraged. I'm not a complainer when it comes to being in pain. If you met me you would never think I was in pain.

I work through the pain on a daily basis, especially when it comes to working out.

Is anyone else in chronic pain that is exacerbated by exercise? How do you continue to exercise when your pain from working out and daily life may keep you up at night?

I'm not giving up on working out. I just have no idea if I should continue to push my body or let it rest. What is pain from working out and pain from pushing my body too far? I don't expect answers, but it would be great if anyone had suggestions.

This new body that I am dealing with after the accident is one that I don't know howxto navigate. There are certain things my leg just can't do.

Thanks!

Replies

  • Brunette122
    Brunette122 Posts: 107 Member
    have you seen a physical therapist? they'd probably be the best ones to tell you how you can work out with your pain. im so sorry that happened to you.
  • mamacoates
    mamacoates Posts: 430 Member
    Hey there! What has your doctor said about physical rehab? What have you been doing so far?

    I was in a car accident 6-2-2012 (on my way to the gym, no less) which set me back several months. By September 2012 my physical therapist had me exercising in the pool and eventually I added some yoga but that’s the extent of what my body could tolerate. Aqua exercise was like a miracle potion as far as helping me with my rehab over time. That is what I had to focus on first. Like you, my joint rotation was severely limited and I could not do much without increasing the pain. I was very motivated to get better and worked hard in the pool. After awhile I was able to add bicycling and elliptical. By June 2013, my doctor released me to start pushing myself into high intensity workouts; I had reached a plateau in my recovery and he said it was time for me to “push through the pain” to get to the next stage of my healing process. I have to say the last 4 months or so have been very physically stressful and I have ramped up my workout regimen to include bootcamp classes, spin classes, miles and miles on the elliptical, etc. and put together a basic strength training program to further stress my muscles over time. In looking back, I actually now have some days that are completely pain-free. Yea me!! But this has all been under a doctor's supervision in combination with physical therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic - all supervised by an MD specialist as a part of my paid management and rehab program.

    Hope that gives you some ideas ...
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Don't give up. Way back in 1986 I had an accident that shattered my knee joint on my left leg and tore all the muscles in my right. The doctors told me I'd never walk without a limp and a cane but at 28 that just didn't seem like an option to me. I did all the rehab that my insurance would allow and then kept working on those things at home. It hurt a lot of times but I gradually got stronger and then the screws in my knee started working themselves out and I had to have them removed which in hindsight wasn't so bad. I rode a stationary bike what felt like around the world. I bought a weight bench with a leg lift and used it as much as I could.

    Almost 30 years later I can run 5k, I cycle a lot and even though I have some pain I've learned to deal with it. I found the best thing was to build as much muscle as I could to support my knee. In your case water activities might be a good place to start because it will take a lot of the weight bearing pain off your hips.
  • westerngirl87
    westerngirl87 Posts: 2
    My rehab was inpatient for two weeks. I had multiple surgeries during that time.

    Once I was released from the hospital I was doing outpatient rehab two hours a day for five days a week for three months to learn how use my leg again. After I was cleared to put weight on my leg I had to learn how to walk again.

    I was nevertold what exercises I could and could not do. I have been swimming at the gym.

    Has accupunture helped relieve your pain?
  • luluinca
    luluinca Posts: 2,899 Member
    I was going to suggest water aerobics and swimming, as tolerated, also. I'm a swimmer and have been working through chronic back pain that way. I started there and now have a trainer who is also a PT and is helping me build core and other muscles. I had a bum leg because of it, which was numb from hip to knee and weak as well.................not anymore.

    It took me a long time to figure out that I could still exercise and I babied myself for 6 years, it didn't make it better, it made it worse. At 63 I finally figured it out..........................you'll find what works for you and your limitations, just keep trying.

    The pool, if you can get to one, would probably be the best place to start.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    My pain is neuropathy in my upper back/neck that doesn't hurt anything when it acts up, so it would be different if someone's inflammation were bone on bone, etc. You do need to know what the pain means that way.

    I do keep my exercising (even using) those parts to a strict schedule that allows for a lot of rest. The pain from flare-ups takes too much out of my body, and it's better for me to use other parts to do the bulk of the day-to-day fitness I like to keep up. So I do a lot of lower body stuff and two spread-out days of UB. I had to work up to the two days, believe me! And my exercises are very particular for it.

    I also agree with the pool recommendation. My PT in the pool was the first PT that was ever successful at all for me. I did weights in the pool (float weights). Swimming is still something that causes too many flare-ups for my particular condition.

    But try to find upper body stuff you like that you could use as the bulk of your fitness. It improves blood flow, etc, all over, so it's great to be doing something, even if you can't work certain parts like you'd like. Work on those parts separately, with a much more conservative plan. Avoiding too many flare-ups is not slacking at all! Pain is hard on the body, and lack of sleep in particular makes healing more difficult. Do try to space out your most painful work, imho.

    I bet yours improves a lot as time goes by! You'll certainly learn all sorts of tricks along the way. Good luck!

    edit: Acupuncture did help mine (especially these little tacks that were left in for 2 days at a time). But it didn't help enough to justify the cost for me. If it were free I'd be going in 2-3x a week again :) It was as effective as some of the meds they tried, which isn't bad.
  • redladywitch
    redladywitch Posts: 799 Member
    My pain is from an inoperable nerve tumor inside my lung. I walk for exercise at the moment. Sometimes I add a kettlebell or a medicine ball. I do what I can.
  • wiltl
    wiltl Posts: 188 Member
    My rehab was inpatient for two weeks. I had multiple surgeries during that time.

    Once I was released from the hospital I was doing outpatient rehab two hours a day for five days a week for three months to learn how use my leg again. After I was cleared to put weight on my leg I had to learn how to walk again.

    I was nevertold what exercises I could and could not do. I have been swimming at the gym.

    Has accupunture helped relieve your pain?

    If you can, try to find a PT that either does sports rehab or incorporates exercise into therapy. There's the kind of PT that is passive work (massage, ice, TENS) and there is the type that gets you moving at a pace your body can handle in addition to all of the other stuff.

    My parents do accupuncture and says it helps them. They both have chronic pain from a number of things. My dad is also doing hydrotherapy in prep for knee replacement surgery and my mom is trying to get the same.
  • mamacoates
    mamacoates Posts: 430 Member
    My rehab was inpatient for two weeks. I had multiple surgeries during that time.

    Once I was released from the hospital I was doing outpatient rehab two hours a day for five days a week for three months to learn how use my leg again. After I was cleared to put weight on my leg I had to learn how to walk again.

    I was nevertold what exercises I could and could not do. I have been swimming at the gym.

    Has accupunture helped relieve your pain?

    If you still have an open insurance claim, I would encourage you to retain an attorney who can help you get set up with additional rehab services. The insurance company covering my claim is covering all my expenses for the last year and a half, including the initial expenses related to my gym costs to be able to access the aqua exercise classes (My gym has the only indoor therapy pool in town with evening classes so I wasn't missing more time from work). I would also look into a few sessions with an exercise therapist who can put together a progressive exercise plan for you.

    I do not swim - was told not to because too much back and neck flexion - but that was my situation. If it is working for you, keep doing it, but add other types of resistance work in the pool to focus on strengthening lower body and restoring rotation and mobility. The aqua exercise classes were full body workouts and as I got stronger, I was able to add the weight things that increased the water resistance. I was able to work really hard while also maintaining a "zero gravity" state which is essential in rehab. The water resistance also helped greatly with restoring hip rotation over time. Any time I tried something new, if I ended up exacerbating the pain, I would return to the pool to work it out with the water resistance. Eventually, my PT also added TRX exercises to work and restore strength in my legs - assisted squats, etc. with the TRX straps. Then I progressed to lunges using a pole for balance, and now working into a weight training program to include squats, leg extensions, etc.

    Acupuncture has just been the most recent 9 weeks. At first I was unsure if it was helping, but in hindsight, yes, it has been very helpful. I think the combination of everything for me has been successful because my health care providers have been very conscious about a staggered treatment plan to exhaust the benefits of one approach before moving into the next treatment phase.

    I hope my experiences are helpful to you ...
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    I'm actually the opposite to you. I have had chronic pain for 4 years now & if I don't workout every day I can't stand the pain at all cause it will be a 10 for me. It's strange cause for about 2 years since I got hurt I didnt so much as walk to the shops. I'd sit & stand all day. 5 mins at a time all day till bedtime. Now I walk all day & can't actually sit down for more than a few mins at the end of the day.
  • MickeyBoo
    MickeyBoo Posts: 196 Member
    I am in a similar situation. I have herniated two discs in my lower back, one of the discs has crushed a nerve that controls my calf muscle function, so I have severe muscle deterioration in the right calf and a big whole where muscle should be building but can't as it isn't getting the signals to engage. In turn my ankle collapses because of the lack of calf muscle interaction and I have about 60% numbness in the right leg.

    I have chronic debilitating pain in my lower back, and nerve pain in both legs that fires off a lot, it feels like red hot knives opening your legs up each time it goes off and just cripples me. I have a very high pain threshold and don't show a lot of pain externally either, but then I think it takes a lot of toll on me mentally because most days I don't feel very strong at all, but hate to show weakness in front of others so it tears you down after a while.

    I have a lot of weight to lose, and also wasn't told what exercises I could and couldn't do aside from swimming. I recently joined a gym and the PT went through a program with me suitable to my injuries, I have managed to stay on track with that and lose weight. I have also found that the first two weeks were tough physically, the pain in my back has diminished the more I've been able to go, and as long as I don't push it too far past that 'breaking point' I know is there then the recuperation is a lot better. I was taking some pretty high strength painkillers 1-2 times a day, and now I'm down to once a week if it's flaring up.

    I am basically using all low or no impact machines, so the bike, the X-trainer and also focusing on weight training, making sure that my posture and form is good and gaining better core control too which all helps support your back and legs. I'm in week 9 and already feel so much better and am starting feel stronger physically and less beaten down mentally too.

    Feel free to add me as a friend or message me if you need support :)

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