I haven’t dealt with any sort of injury or illness that’s stopped me from exercising the way I enjoy since middle school and high school. Then, it was a stress fracture followed by joint inflammation due a medication I was taking. Now, it’s likely a torn ACL (I won’t know for sure until my MRI results are in on July 7 – the medical system is sloooow).
All I can say is: I deeply empathize with anyone out there who is dealing with an injury or illness that’s preventing you from moving or working out the way you enjoy. It can be triggering. The sudden change can bring on a natural fear of gaining weight, losing your fitness level and/or generally losing control over your body. Especially if you’ve dealt with anxiety or disordered behavior around food and exercise in thee past. Knowing I could have months of post-surgical recovery ahead of me, I feel that. I’ve been sitting with that.
But I also want to remind you that there are still plenty of ways to move your body, and to work with what you have. You just need to communicate with your doctor in order to understand what’s safe and healthy for you during your recovery.
For me, exercise/movement right now looks a lot like:
Walking the dog.
I’ve dubbed Murray my physical therapist, and he’s patiently letting me hobble along in my knee brace with him every morning before it gets too hot out.
Arm workouts with free weights.
I’m still doing some heavier lifting while trying not to put added weight on my knee, but I also grabbed these cute little five-pounders at Target (main photo) so I can add more variety and lighter repetitions into my arm workouts. I’m trying to discover new movements and circuits through Instagram to spice things up a bit at the same time.
Intensely modified yoga mixed with physical therapy exercises.
I’m supposed to be working on getting my knee to bend all the way again while reducing inflammation, and while avoiding balancing on my injured leg or rotating my injured knee. So yoga looks like knee bends, arm balances, deep folds and balancing on my right leg. No Warrior 1s, 2s, etc.
Lastly, to support strength and recovery, I’m bringing more focus to my nutrition in the form of nutrient-dense meals. And since Rémy makes most of our dinners (bless him), I’ve also worked to be open about my needs right now – how I’m trying to be mindful of nutrient intake and add more balance to my plate while I adjust with my body. He’s been incredibly supportive. And we all need that when we’re going through some form of recovery.
Talk about your needs with your support system. Figure out a safe way to keep moving. Honor your nutritional needs. Give your body HUGE patience for what it’s going through. And hang in there.
