Keeping fit with an injury/pain

Whether you suffer from some form of nagging chronic pain-arthritis or an old sports injury, for example-or you're recovering from a recent injury, area fitness experts say you shouldn't let your limitations prevent you from training the rest of your body.

"Everybody has at least one limitation," said Joann Flannery-Mathers, a certified personal trainer and physical fitness specialist in Joliet. The key is to find ways around that injury or limitation so you can stay active. "And you have to be able to be versatile with that," she added.

For example, if you have a weak or bad back, you can try walking, swimming, stair climbing or a stair machine as prescribed by your doctor. Maintaining flexibility is critical, Flannery-Mathers said, particularly in the hamstrings. Work on strengthening abdominals, and don't do squats and lunges.

People with knee problems or arthritis can also benefit from lower impact activities such as walking, swimming and, in some cases, biking and rowing. Strength training at lower intensities with isometric exercises, light hand weights and stretch cords is a good way to maintain muscle tone and balance without aggravating sensitive joints.

"People are always saying, 'Oh, exercise isn't for me,' or, 'I can't do that.' Exercise is for everyone," Flannery-Mathers said, "it's not just for the healthy, it's not just for the young...I have one client who's 450 pounds and can't move, but she does chair aerobics. Another woman I work with had polio, breast cancer and had cardiac arrest when she was in surgery-she still works out regularly. Right now we're doing circuit training. It's never too late to start exercising." Susan Salsbury, an occupational therapist with Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital and Clinics in Wheaton, agreed.

"Ongoing exercise is critical for any kind of injury management," she said. "You can have chronic pain and be inactive, or you can have chronic pain and be active," but unfortunately, inactivity often results in a vicious cycle. "Inactivity leads to stiffness, which leads to weakness, which leads to more pain," she said.

Both experts note that staying active has other benefits as well.

The correlation between fitness and injury prevention is well-documented, Salsbury said, "so certainly it's beneficial to maintain total body fitness in terms of aerobic capacity, strength, endurance and flexibility." Studies have shown that safe exercise programs help recovering patients maintain a positive attitude during healing, and exercise is also a great way to relax and relieve stress, she said. "Someone at a higher level of fitness is also going to rehabilitate more quickly from an injury or operation," she added.

Flannery-Mathers, who specializes in designing fitness programs for special populations-people with limitations that range from arthritis to new motherhood-said it's important to work at your own level and keep lines of communication open between you, your doctor and your personal trainer. Your doctor needs to monitor your progress and make sure your exercise isn't interfering in your recovery, she noted.

� Copyright 1994 Paula Lauer