Post Procedure Training

This topic is one that for some people is hard to understand.  How can a person who has just undergone a serious surgical procedure even consider exercising at this point?  Shouldn't I take some time off and rest my body?  Yep you should rest the area that has been injured or has had surgery and the surrounding joints but what about the rest of you, do you think life is going to stand still and wait for you to get well and then continue at where YOU left off---ummm NO!   Lets look at the first picture I have posted here.  This is a woman I have trained for a number of years and is very fit and active.  She is wearing a cast on her left hand and arm because she has had a procedure to reattach a few things that were injured and detached  Now if we were to postpone her training for sometime to rest her body some unusual things may occur.  How does low back pain sound? Yep thats right over the course of a few weeks that's what my experience tells me will happen.  I have had it happen to clients before and have had it happen to me so that is valid that it can occur again. Now how in the world, people will say, will low back pain happen because of wrist surgery?  It is THE KINECTIC CHAIN.

This client has worked very hard at postural integrity to maintain her ability to keep her shoulders in a position to have her head straight when at work.  With an arm that may cause her to be more forward in her daily movements we have to lenghten her front pectoralis muscles so they do not get tight and continue to keep her rear neck muscles strong so they do not get long and loose causing her head to come forward.  This will result in her having a curve in her midback and then will move the top portion of her body into a forward postural position and place stress on her low back and if she sits too much RESTING, will create a weakening of her glute muscles.  Now she starts to move differently than she is used to in the correct biomechanical form she has learned  and from sitting too much already her hip flexors will get tight, hamstrings will get short and BAM low back pain!  All this from a wrist procedure.  This is a person who is in shape and strong already.

Now take your average adult who is not in shape and put this information into use.  If we think we are going to go through life without being injured we are fooling ourselves.  What we can do is make sure we continue to do exercise and work on other areas of the body as we are rehabbing the injured area. Continue to be aware of your posture and the way you sit, walk, drive a car and use the computer.  Life does not stop because of an injury, but it is imperative not to neglect the rest of your body in exercise.