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OK, not sure if this is the right forum, but here is my dilemma. I am a 73 year old woman, who has always tried to keep herself in shape - long walks, bike rides, dance classes and a bit of strength training. I am very slim but always had decent muscle tone, despite developing ever looser, and wrinkly body skin.
A couple months ago I suffered a severe injury - fell off my bike and fractured my patella. Had to have surgery and long story short have been immobilized for several weeks and will be for several weeks more. Between the splint and pain I can't do much and my body has really turned to mush and I am dismayed. Any advice here? Will I be able to gain some muscle back? I can't believe how quickly it has disappeared! Years of work, gone in two months!! I hate looking at myself in the mirror. Of course the bigger issues is hoping I will at least be able to walk normally again.
Physical therapist here. I work mainly with deeply-deconditioned older adults so I am familiar with the challenges you are facing. I think you are overly worried: first, unless you are completely immobilized, you can always work many of the muscle groups in your body. Second, if you keep at it, you should be able to regain most of your previous abilities. I do not know the details of your injury and what the doctors did to fix you up so I can't be 100% sure. Third, don't overdo it. This is really a case of "the tortoise wins the race." Are you in some kind of rehab program?
Physical therapist here. I work mainly with deeply-deconditioned older adults so I am familiar with the challenges you are facing. I think you are overly worried: first, unless you are completely immobilized, you can always work many of the muscle groups in your body. Second, if you keep at it, you should be able to regain most of your previous abilities. I do not know the details of your injury and what the doctors did to fix you up so I can't be 100% sure. Third, don't overdo it. This is really a case of "the tortoise wins the race." Are you in some kind of rehab program?
Thank you for the info. At this point I have an in-home therapist twice per week, but am pretty limited as to what I can do. I had surgery for fractured patella after falling off my bike. Once I am able to remove the splint the real physical therapy will begin. I do try to do my exercises at home and am making some progress but it's a "long row to hoe" so to speak. I am feeling a bit better now that I am 3 weeks post op and am going to try to do some upper body strengthening (as my limitations will allow)
You can do upper-body workouts while sitting: arms, shoulders, back, abs, and also work on strengthening the leg that is not immobilized. You probably need to do it anyway because it will compensate for your weaker leg, when you start walking again. If you want to work on your endurance, you can use an arm bike - not the best thing in the world but it's better than nothing.
Losing muscle mass after stopping your workouts might be a serious problem. However, 1-2 weeks away from the gym won't reverse years of dedication.
So, if you're required to take some time off, try not to freak out. In actuality, muscle loss won't be a problem until several weeks have passed with no exercising. Even though, there are strategies that support keeping your muscle mass when wounded.
Losing muscle mass after stopping your workouts might be a serious problem. However, 1-2 weeks away from the gym won't reverse years of dedication.
So, if you're required to take some time off, try not to freak out. In actuality, muscle loss won't be a problem until several weeks have passed with no exercising. Even though, there are strategies that support keeping your muscle mass when wounded.
She did mention a couple of months, not 1-2 weeks.
She did mention a couple of months, not 1-2 weeks.
Yes, it has been a few months now. I do physical therapy twice per week, and do what I can at home. I am about to start back at the Y tomorrow to work out some more. This injury is really debilitating, and muscle atrophy a lot more than you would expect. It is a long road back, that is for certain.
Yes, it has been a few months now. I do physical therapy twice per week, and do what I can at home. I am about to start back at the Y tomorrow to work out some more. This injury is really debilitating, and muscle atrophy a lot more than you would expect. It is a long road back, that is for certain.
I've been involved in many injuries, and I understand the muscle atrophy part. I'm a bit younger than you (55, soon 56) and my injuries primarily happened in my teens,20s,30s, though one quite recently (2018).
I scratched my head, but in the end I have no good advice so I initially avoided posting anything. Just maybe some encouragement, exercise what you can now and as intensely as you safely can. It might not take you back to before your accident, but you will be better off than if you did nothing. Eat high protein and fat diets while you're immobile as those diets have been scientifically shown to preserve muscle mass. Diets high in carbs facilitate muscle loss especially if you're not moving and eating little.
I've been involved in many injuries, and I understand the muscle atrophy part. I'm a bit younger than you (55, soon 56) and my injuries primarily happened in my teens,20s,30s, though one quite recently (2018).
I scratched my head, but in the end I have no good advice so I initially avoided posting anything. Just maybe some encouragement, exercise what you can now and as intensely as you safely can. It might not take you back to before your accident, but you will be better off than if you did nothing. Eat high protein and fat diets while you're immobile as those diets have been scientifically shown to preserve muscle mass. Diets high in carbs facilitate muscle loss especially if you're not moving and eating little.
Yes, thank you. I agree about protein and fat. I do like carbs, but since I am also diabetic now I eat a lot more protein and "good" fat. I had lost a lot of weight through dehydration and muscle atrophy while sick, injured and in the hospital, but this diet has me looking a lot better now. My arms have some muscle tone and it's coming back in my "good" leg. Just hard to get that injured leg to build muscle. Just going to take time and work.
Yes, thank you. I agree about protein and fat. I do like carbs, but since I am also diabetic now I eat a lot more protein and "good" fat. I had lost a lot of weight through dehydration and muscle atrophy while sick, injured and in the hospital, but this diet has me looking a lot better now. My arms have some muscle tone and it's coming back in my "good" leg. Just hard to get that injured leg to build muscle. Just going to take time and work.
It's definitely hard, and you're in for a long road ahead. Especially if that leg is immobilized for months. But there is no magic things I can recommend, except good diet and exercise, and take it one step at a time.
I experimented with BPC injections(https://vitality-sciences.com/peptides/what-is-bpc-157/) for healing my tendons, and connective tissue. I found some good results, you can look into this but maybe at your age it's best not to rock the boat and do what is natural.
Also, another recommendation. Lose the pain meds if you can. You don't want the pain dulled for a few reasons. 1) You want to be in tune with your body when working out so you don't hurt it again or something else 2) They're bad for you. The pain will be your guide.
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