Exercising with old or new injuries

There are many people out there with old injuries, including me. In fact, I was asked about working out with joint pain and old injuries. This is a fun question for me, because, like so many of the other things I've written about, it applies to me too! I am frequently known as the walking disaster. I've had two knee injuries (thankfully fairly minor), sprained both ankles multiple times (each one i've gotten fairly minor sprains and one major for each), broken my wrist and had surgery on it later, and sustained some muscle/tissue damage to my lower back/right hip. Just like anything else, when you're working with an injury or old injuries, listen to your body. If it's a new injury, make sure you talk to your doctor before you start working out again. Ask when you can start working out again, what kinds of exercises you can do, what the intensity level should be, and what kinds of repercussions to expect from your body as you get back into it.

So... ouches are not fun

Luckily, there are many exercises that you can do while dealing with ouches and many more that you can modify to work for you. Ultimately, if you don't have much workout experience, you should ask a pro, however, there are many of you out there who don't have that luxury. What I like to do is start with common sense and then modify the moves as my body requires when i'm dealing with one of these setbacks. For example, once I could put weight on my ankle again after my sprain in September (more than 2 weeks later!!!) I started working out again. I took a lot more care with most of my workout moves. I found that I could handle stepping moves (no jumping for me, thanks!) like side lunges where I stepped from one side to the other. When I started doing pushups again I started on my knees; not because my arms and chest couldn't handle the weight, but because my ankle couldn't handle that pressure. I was still able to do reclining ab workouts (like crunches, bicycles, v-ups, etc), so I incorporated those in my workouts a lot.

So i'll cover a couple common injuries and a couple of the exercises you should be able to still do:

Ankle sprains:

obviously, i've touched on this a bit already, but here are some moves that you can still manage.

• Pushups on your knees to avoid extra pressure on the ankle
• tricep dips if your legs (shins/knees) are resting on a chair, make sure that your weight isn't on your ankle
• bicycles (the ab exercise where you are on your back, alternating knees and twisting your opposite shoulder to knee)
• v-ups (you start lying extended on your back, and pull your knees up to your chest as you pull your chest up to your knees. you should end up in a V shape balanced on your bum.)
• Mule kicks where you start from your hands and knees and push your leg up behind you like a mule kicking over a bucket.
  Mule Kicks
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• dirty dogs starting from that same hands and knees position you're going to raise your knee to the side:
• crunches self explanatory
• Pilates floor exercises: there are lots of these that you can do:

*teasers

*roll ups

*arm circles

*cervical nod and curl

*knee folds

*the bug

*the hundred - beginner or advanced, this one will make your abs BURN

*single leg circles

*forward spine stretch

*rolling like a ball

*single leg stretch

*double leg stretch

*straight-leg single-leg stretch

*straight-leg double-leg stretch

*criss cross (basically like a bicycle)

*the saw

*roll over

once you can bear weight again, and really pay attention to your body on these:

• squats (you can do knee lift/twists too)
• stepping side lunges
• pushups on your toes
• reptiles
• walking mountain climbers
• plank knee tucks

ok, you get the point. There are LOTS of exercises you can still do!

wrist injury:

some of these are obvious. you can still do a lot of those standing exercises; squats, lunges, (if your balance is good you can still do high knees and jumping things). you still have the ability to do those reclining exercises like bicycles and crunches, jumping jacks, and walking too!

• take your plank pose stuff and turn it into elbow plank (if your arm is ok with that)
• grab a light weight for the other arm. you can do bicep curls, tricep presses, rows, etc.

knee pain:

this is the worst one to work with. Here you're going to have to be REALLY creative because your knee is so integral. If you have a knee INJURY, it's best to let it heal first and foremost.

the best thing to do for your knee is pay attention to it. warm up well before EVERY workout. Cool down well. Pay attention to all of the little twinges and modify. Side lunges can be surprisingly easy on the knees, but PAY ATTENTION, it it makes any 'noises' at you, don't ignore it. change exercises. Squats halfway down, but the same mantra applies; Pay Attention to what your body is saying to you. Walking is a great way to get some cardio in with less pressure on your knees.

You can do a lot of reclining exercises. Refer back to the pilates and ab exercises that are listed above for some lower pressure knee exercises that you can always do. Pilates floorwork is a GREAT way to get some strengthening work with minimal pressure on the knee. Just make sure you always pay attention to those 'little twinges' and learn to recognize if it's a dangerous twinge or a minor one. Definitely talk to your doctor about any concerns at ANY point.

the last thing i'm going to talk about regarding exercise:

Iliotibial "IT" Band:

I injured this earlier this year and it can be a really uncomfortable injury. It can manifest in your hip or knee, or anywhere in between the two. Mine was particularly painful in the hip. This is what your IT band looks like/where it is:

first you have to let the band heal. ice and ibuprophen help lessen the swelling and the pain. I hurt my IT band doing curtsy squats with incorrect balance and posture. I put the weight on my leg incorrectly and paid for it. SO be careful with balancing/weight bearing exercises.

When dealing this kind of pain, take it easy, balance your weight carefully, and make sure you are paying attention to those little twinges again!

hope this helps! :)